Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced Friday that the state has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Commerce, challenging the inclusion of illegal immigrants and certain noncitizens in census data used to apportion congressional representation.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, argues that current census practices violate the Constitution by allowing individuals without legal status to be counted for purposes of congressional seats, Electoral College votes, and federal funding allocations.
In a statement announcing the legal action, Hanaway said Missouri voters are being denied fair representation under the existing census policy. “United States citizens and lawful permanent residents have a right to representation, unlike illegal aliens and temporary visa holders,” Hanaway said, adding that the state is seeking to defend what she described as Missourians’ right to self-government.
According to the complaint, Missouri is requesting a court order requiring the Census Bureau to exclude illegal immigrants and temporary visa holders from the apportionment base used for congressional representation. The state is also seeking a census recount and an injunction preventing similar inclusion in future census tabulations.
Missouri officials argue that counting illegal immigrants shifts political representation and federal resources away from states that enforce immigration laws and toward states with sanctuary policies. The lawsuit identifies states, including California, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Maryland, as beneficiaries of population figures inflated by the inclusion of illegal immigrants.
The legal filing traces the dispute to changes made ahead of the 1980 Census, when federal policy was adjusted to include illegal immigrants and temporary visa holders in population counts used for apportionment. Missouri contends that this policy departs from the original understanding of representation under the Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment.
The lawsuit also references a 2020 memorandum issued by President Donald Trump, which directed the Secretary of Commerce to exclude illegal immigrants from the apportionment base. That policy was later reversed following litigation and a change in administration.
Missouri officials claim that if illegal immigrants had been excluded from the 2021 apportionment, the state would have gained an additional congressional seat and Electoral College vote. The complaint further argues that census-based funding formulas tied to more than 350 federal programs have resulted in Missouri receiving fewer resources than it would otherwise qualify for.
The state is asking the court to declare that including illegal immigrants in past and future apportionment calculations violates federal law, to require revised census figures where feasible, and to prohibit their inclusion in the 2030 Census and subsequent apportionment.
In a post on X, Hanaway said the lawsuit is intended to ensure that representation in Congress and the Electoral College is determined by U.S. citizens, not individuals without lawful status.
United States citizens have a right to representation, NOT illegal aliens. United States citizens should decide electoral votes and congressional seats, NOT illegal aliens.
We are suing @uscensusbureau for unconstitutionally allowing illegal aliens to commandeer the path to The… pic.twitter.com/UzU4UIF74V— Attorney General Catherine L. Hanaway (@AGCHanaway) January 30, 2026
