A Republican congressman from Georgia is proposing to change how the federal government decides how many seats each state gets in the House of Representatives, a move that would primarily affect states with large immigrant populations.
Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., is introducing what he calls the Make Apportionment Great Again (MAGA) Act. The bill would count only U.S. citizens when determining how many House seats each state receives, breaking with the longstanding practice of counting everyone living in the country, regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
The change would hit hardest in states with the largest immigrant populations. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, immigrants — both those who are citizens and those who are not — make up roughly a fifth of the population in California, New Jersey, New York and Florida. People living in the country illegally, including those in sanctuary jurisdictions, are currently counted by the census as well.
A 2024 report from the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that favors lower immigration levels, found that counting immigrants, both legal and illegal, has produced a net gain of 14 House seats for Democrat-leaning states, while Republican-leaning states have 10 fewer seats than they would otherwise have.
How the bill would work
Rather than ordering a new census, the legislation would require states to use existing government records to recalculate apportionment by sometime in 2027. It would also add a citizenship question to the 2030 census, asking respondents whether they are a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national who is not a citizen, a lawful resident alien, or an alien living in the country unlawfully.
A likely legal fight
Even if the bill becomes law, it would probably face a court challenge. The 14th Amendment says House seats are to be divided among the states by
