Washington, October 31, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Five Indian-American lawmakers have joined more than 150 House Democrats in urging the Trump administration to withdraw a proposed Census Bureau rule that would exclude certain non-citizens from the population count used to allocate seats in the US House of Representatives.
Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Suhas Subramanyam and Shri Thanedar signed a public comment letter opposing the proposal, according to the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
The campaign was led by Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, along with leaders of the Asian Pacific American, Hispanic, Black and Equality caucuses.
The lawmakers argued that excluding certain residents would violate the 14th Amendment’s requirement that congressional representation be based on population. They also warned that limiting demographic questions could weaken the enforcement of voting rights and other civil rights protections.
Grace Meng, chair of the Asian Pacific American caucus, said the proposed changes could reduce representation and resources for minority communities and undermine data used to identify disparities.
Under the Census Bureau’s proposal, lawful permanent residents, or green-card holders, would remain part of the population used for congressional apportionment. Undocumented immigrants and non-citizens with less permanent legal status, including temporary visa holders, would be excluded.
The proposal would also remove questions on race, ethnicity and sexual orientation from census questionnaires used to enumerate the population. The restriction would not extend to the American Community Survey or other surveys that do not conduct the population count.
The bureau has argued that lasting residence and allegiance to the United States should guide decisions on who is included in apportionment figures. It is considering the use of administrative records to determine legal status and has invited public comments on whether to add a legal-status question to the census form.
Republican Representative Mary Miller of Illinois has separately backed the proposal and called for a broader exclusion covering all non-citizens, including green-card holders. Her group has also sought restrictions on demographic questions in the American Community Survey.
The National Conference of State Legislatures has requested an additional 60 days for public comments and consultation with states, warning that administrative records and survey estimates may not provide the detailed census-block data needed for redistricting.
The Census Bureau published the proposal on September 10 and later extended the public comment deadline to November 2. The US conducts a census every 10 years, with population figures determining the distribution of the House’s 435 seats among the 50 states.
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