Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced Friday that the state has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Commerce Department and the U.S. Census Bureau seeking to end the counting of illegal aliens in the national Census and to force a recount of the 2020 Census and the resulting 2021 congressional apportionment.
The lawsuit was filed jointly by the state of Missouri and several individual plaintiffs. It challenges the federal government’s long-standing practice of including illegal aliens in Census population totals used to determine congressional representation and the distribution of federal resources.
The 96-page complaint names as defendants the U.S. Department of Commerce, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the U.S. Census Bureau, and George Cook in his official capacity as Acting Director of the Census Bureau.
According to the filing, Missouri argues that counting illegal aliens for apportionment purposes violates both the Constitution and federal law by inflating representation for states with large illegal immigrant populations while diluting the political power of states that enforce immigration laws and have smaller non-citizen populations.
The suit also seeks a retroactive remedy, requesting a recount of the 2020 Census and a reexamination of the 2021 apportionment of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. If successful, such a ruling could potentially affect congressional district lines and the balance of political power among states.
Missouri officials contend that the Census was never intended to be used as a tool to reward states for harboring illegal immigration and that the current practice undermines the principle of equal representation for American citizens.
“This case is about fairness and the rule of law,” the lawsuit asserts, arguing that states should not gain additional political influence by counting individuals who are not legally present in the country.
The Commerce Department and the Census Bureau have not yet issued a public response to the lawsuit.
The case is expected to face significant legal hurdles, as federal courts have historically allowed the Census Bureau broad discretion in how it counts population. Still, the lawsuit raises questions that could reignite a national debate over whether representation should be based on total population or citizen population.
Given the potential political and constitutional implications, the case is likely to draw close scrutiny as it moves forward. Missouri officials say they intend to pursue the matter aggressively and will seek judicial review of the current Census methodology.
This lawsuit sets the stage for a potentially landmark legal battle over how representation in the United States is calculated—and who, exactly, gets counted.
