The Constitution says the census counts "the whole number of persons in each State." That count decides how many seats each state gets in the House.

On October 30, Mary Miller of Illinois led 44 House Republicans in a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick asking him to count only some of those persons. Forty of the signers are candidates with report cards on this site, and three more have pages here but are no longer running.

The letter backs a Census Bureau rule that would already leave undocumented immigrants out of the count used to hand out House seats — along with, the Bureau says, "aliens whose legal status is less durable and indefinite in length than lawful permanent resident status." The rule would still count green card holders. The letter asks for more. It wants the Bureau to leave out:

"illegal aliens, lawful permanent residents (i.e., green card holders), non-immigrant visas, refugees, asylees, DACA beneficiaries, alien parolees, Deferred Enforced Departure recipients, and temporary protected status recipients."

Most of those groups are here legally, with the government's permission. Under this letter, none of them would count when the country decides how many representatives each state gets.

What else the letter asks for

• A citizenship question on the 2030 census. The letter "support[s] the Bureau's intent to add a citizenship question."
• No more questions about race, ethnicity or sexual orientation, on the census or on the American Community Survey. The letter calls the importance of those questions "fabricated" and says many of them were created "to appease a radical, left agenda." It calls getting rid of them "a victory against these woke policies."

"Congressional representation should be determined by American citizens, not millions of foreign nationals who have no allegiance to our country," Miller said in her press release. Her release lists four outside groups backing the letter, including Heritage Action, the Federation for American Immigration Reform and NumbersUSA.

What the experts say about the rule they're cheering

We've already written about the Census Bureau rule this letter supports. It would leave undocumented immigrants out of the count for House seats, tie where you "live" to your tax records, and stop counting race for the first time since 1790.

Six former Census Bureau directors, who served under presidents of both parties going back to 1994, have now asked the Commerce Department to drop it. "The proposed rule dramatically complicates the collection of complete, accurate data, and puts the 2030 Decennial at risk," they wrote, according to Talking Points Memo. Experts told TPM the proposals would shift power toward Republicans. One piece of it, experts told TPM, risks counting snowbirds at their winter homes in warmer red states.

The Republicans who signed this letter want to go further than the rule the former directors are already warning about.

Who signed it

These 40 signers are candidates with report cards on this site:

Brian Babin, Stephanie Bice, Sheri Biggs, Lauren Boebert, Josh Brecheen, Tim Burchett, Ben Cline, Michael Cloud, Andrew Clyde, Eli Crane, Scott DesJarlais, Troy Downing, Randy Fine, Russ Fulcher, Clay Fuller, Brandon Gill, Paul Gosar, Glenn Grothman, Harriet Hageman, Mike Haridopolos, Pat Harrigan, Andy Harris, Mark Harris, Diana Harshbarger, Clay Higgins, Brian Jack, Anna Paulina Luna, Rich McCormick, Max Miller, John Moolenaar, Barry Moore, Riley Moore, Gary Palmer, Scott Perry, Michael Rulli, Keith Self, Marlin Stutzman, Matt Van Epps, Randy Weber — and Mary Miller, who led it.

The other five signers were Buddy Carter and Chip Roy, plus Cory Mills, Ralph Norman and John Rose, who have pages here but lost their races earlier this year.

Many of these names have been here before. When Andrew Clyde filed a bill to redraw the House before 2028 by not counting noncitizens, 38 Republicans we cover signed on the same day.

What the letter shows

On October 30, Mary Miller and 44 other House Republicans, 40 of them covered on this site, asked the Commerce Department to count only U.S. citizens when it hands out House seats. That would leave out green card holders, refugees, asylees and DACA recipients along with undocumented immigrants. They also asked for a citizenship question and an end to race and ethnicity questions on the census. Six former Census directors who served under presidents of both parties say the rule they're backing already puts an accurate 2030 count at risk.

Source

• Congressional letter in support of the Census Bureau's proposed rule, October 30, 2026 — Office of Rep. Mary Miller
• Rep. Miller Leads 44 Members in Letter Calling for Citizenship-Only Census Count for Congressional Apportionment — Office of Rep. Mary Miller