To amend title 13, United States Code, to prohibit the use of questions on citizenship, nationality, or immigration status in any decennial census, and for other purposes.

Plain-English Summary

This bill would permanently ban the federal government from asking questions about citizenship, nationality, or immigration status on the official U.S. Census, which is conducted every ten years. Currently, federal law governs what questions can appear on the Census, and this bill would add a specific prohibition to that law, making it illegal to include any such questions in future Census forms. The bill is focused specifically on the decennial Census — the big count of everyone living in the United States that happens every decade.

The bill would affect all residents of the United States, regardless of their background. The Census is used to determine how many seats each state gets in the U.S. House of Representatives and how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding are distributed to states and communities for things like schools, hospitals, roads, and public services. Supporters of bills like this typically argue that including citizenship or immigration questions causes some residents — particularly immigrants — to avoid participating, which could lead to an undercount. Opponents of such bans often argue that citizenship data is valuable for policymaking and legal purposes.

In practical terms, if this bill became law, the Census Bureau would be legally prohibited from ever asking respondents about their citizenship or immigration status on the ten-year Census form. It is worth noting that citizenship-related questions can still appear on other government surveys, such as the American Community Survey, which is a separate ongoing survey distinct from the decennial Census. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for further consideration.