Published September 17, 2026 at 7:43 AM ET · Updated September 17, 2026 at 6:08 PM ET
New push to stop census rigging shows promise
2 independent outlets are covering this story, first reported here by The Federalist. Verification: Corroborated (how we verify). Every headline links to the original reporting.
Trump has a plan to stop noncitizens from being counted in the census. Two outlets report the plan might work this time after earlier attempts failed.
Patriot Watch first flagged this story 14 d ago, when The Federalist reported it. Coverage has since grown to 2 independent outlets. The most recent report came 13 d ago from RealClearPolitics.
⚖ The Constitutional Angle
Trump v. New York dismissed the prior exclusion effort as premature for lack of standing, expressing no view on whether noncitizens may lawfully be excluded from the apportionment base. Department of Commerce v. New York shows the other hurdle: the Secretary had authority to add a citizenship question, but the move was sent back because his stated reason was contrived. The merits remain unsettled.
Trump v. New York 592 U.S. 125 (2020)
Vote: Per curiam; 6-3 (vacated and remanded with instructions to dismiss for lack of standing… · Opinion: Per curiam (unsigned)
The challenge to the President's July 21, 2020 memorandum — which directed the Secretary of Commerce to provide apportionment information that would allow the President to try to exclude unlawfully present noncitizens from the base — was premature. The plaintiffs lacked Article III standing and the case was not ripe: it was not clear the policy would be carried out, how many people it would affect, or whether it would change any state's apportionment. The Court expressed no view on the merits (whether noncitizens may lawfully be excluded from the apportionment base).
Department of Commerce v. New York 588 U.S. 752 (2019)
Vote: Fractured. 9-0 that the plaintiffs had standing; the controlling disposition (affirming… · Opinion: Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.
The Secretary of Commerce had statutory and constitutional authority to reinstate a citizenship question on the 2020 census (the Enumeration Clause and the Census Act did not independently bar it, and the decision was reviewable), BUT the sole rationale the Secretary offered — that the Department of Justice needed the data to enforce the Voting Rights Act — was contrived: 'the evidence tells a story that does not match the explanation the Secretary gave.' Because courts may not accept a pretextual justification for agency action, the matter was properly remanded to the agency.
Precedent facts from the PW Law Library — primary-source verified & independently audited
