Missouri Sues Census Bureau to End Counting of Illegal Aliens and Request 2020 Recount

Susie Moore, RedState

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced Friday that the state, along with several individual plaintiffs, had filed suit against the U.S. Commerce Department and the Census Bureau seeking to bring an end to the counting of illegal aliens in the Census, as well as forcing a recount of the 2020 Census and 2021 apportionment.

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

The press release from Hanaway’s office gives additional details:

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – To defend our fundamental right to representation in government, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed the most significant election lawsuit in a generation. This first-in-the-nation suit was filed against the United States Department of Commerce (DOC) and the Census Bureau for unconstitutionally allowing illegal aliens to commandeer the path to The White House and compromise our elections.

“The State of Missouri and its voters can no longer ignore the ongoing denial of their right to self-government and fair representation,” said Attorney General Hanaway. “United States citizens and lawful permanent residents have a right to representation, unlike illegal aliens and temporary visa holders. In America, the People, the members of the social compact, are the only legitimate source of the government’s power. We are taking a stand against those who are cheating our system.”

The DOC and the Census Bureau’s current policy of counting illegal aliens in the census tabulation is unjust, unlawful, and unconstitutional. Attorney General Hanaway is demanding a Census recount and that the Court prohibit the inclusion of illegal aliens in the Census.

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 as Acting Director of the Census Bureau.

The press release gives additional background regarding the suit:

Federal representation is being stolen from states who uphold immigration law, including Missouri, and transferred to sanctuary states who artificially inflate their population by harboring illegal aliens. Attorney General Hanaway will not allow open-border states like California, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Maryland to steal an estimated 11 congressional seats, 11 electoral votes, and billions of dollars in funding.

Prior to the 1980 Census, the Carter Administration unilaterally decided that all illegal aliens and temporary visa holders should be counted in the decennial Census and included in the apportionment of congressional representation. The framers of the Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment would have been shocked by this policy. They could never have imagined an absurd system where 15 million illegal alien trespassers would receive representation in Congress and the Electoral College.

But here’s the really notable twist:

In July of 2020, President Trump issued a memorandum requiring the Secretary of Commerce to exclude illegal aliens from the decennial apportionment base, even though illegal aliens were counted in the 2020 Census. California and New York immediately sued against the President’s action. Ultimately, the Supreme Court vacated all the injunctions, but these legal delays opened the door for the Biden Administration to reverse course and include illegal aliens in the apportionment base for federal representation.

If President Trump had succeeded in excluding illegal aliens from the 2021 apportionment, Missouri would have received an extra congressional seat and an extra vote in the Electoral College. Instead, the Biden Administration hijacked the representation of Missourians by reversing the Trump Administration’s action.

The suit has initially been assigned to Judge Maria Lanahan, who was confirmed by the Senate in September of 2025. However, due to the nature of the claims, it will likely go to a three-judge panel:

28 U.S.C. § 2284(a) requires a “district court of three judges [to] be convened” in this action because it involves “the constitutionality of the apportionment of congressional districts.” 28 U.S.C. § 2284(a).

The complaint asks the court to:

Declare that including illegal aliens and temporary visa holders in the 2020 Census and the 2021 Apportionment base violated Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act;

Require the Census Bureau to redo the 2020 Census and 2021 Apportionment, removing from the apportionment base all illegal aliens and temporary visa holders through the best available methods, including by re-conducting the 2020 Census enumeration if necessary;

Declare that including illegal aliens and temporary visa holders in the 2030 Census, and the 2031 Apportionment base would violate Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act; and

Prohibit the Census Bureau from including illegal aliens and temporary visa holders in the 2030 Census tabulation.

This one will be interesting, so we’ll definitely keep an eye on it and report on any notable developments.

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