US Code Title 13 Section 141

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TITLE 13—CENSUS

‘‘(b) BUREAU OF THE CENSUS.—The Bureau of the Census of the Department of Commerce shall include in its
Business Census for 1992 and each such succeeding census data on the number of corporations which are 51 per
centum or more owned by women.
‘‘(c) COMBINED STUDY.—Not later than one hundred
and eighty days after the effective date of this section
[Oct. 25, 1988], the Office of the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (hereinafter
referred to in this subsection as the ‘Office’) shall conduct a study and prepare a report recommending the
most cost effective and accurate means to gather and
present the data required to be collected pursuant to
subsections (a) and (b). The Department of Commerce
and the Department of Labor shall provide the Office
such assistance and cooperation as may be necessary
and appropriate to achieve the purposes of this subsection.’’

§ 132. Controlling law; effect on other agencies
To the extent that the provisions of this subchapter or subchapter IV of this chapter conflict
with any other provision of this title or other
law, pertaining to the Secretary of the Department of Commerce, the provisions of this title
shall control; but nothing in this title shall be
deemed to revoke or impair the authority of any
other Federal agency with respect to the collection or release of information.
(Aug. 31, 1954, ch. 1158, 68 Stat. 1019.)
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
Based on title 13, U.S.C., 1952 ed., § 123 (June 19, 1948,
ch. 502, § 3, 62 Stat. 479).
Section was derived from all of section 123 of title 13,
U.S.C., 1952 ed., except the first sentence. That sentence is incorporated with other provisions in chapter
1 of this title. See Distribution Table.
The reference ‘‘Secretary or Department of Commerce’’ was substituted for reference to the Bureau of
the Census to conform with 1950 Reorganization Plan
No. 5, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1263.
See Revision Note to section 4 of this title.
Changes were made in phraseology.

SUBCHAPTER II—POPULATION, HOUSING,
AND UNEMPLOYMENT
AMENDMENTS
1997—Pub. L. 105–113, § 3(b)(1), Nov. 21, 1997, 111 Stat.
2275, substituted ‘‘POPULATION, HOUSING, AND UNEMPLOYMENT’’ for ‘‘POPULATION, HOUSING, AGRICULTURE, IRRIGATION,, AND UNEMPLOYMENT’’.
1986—Pub. L. 99–544, § 1(b), Oct. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 3046,
struck out ‘‘DRAINAGE’’ after ‘‘IRRIGATION,’’.

§ 141. Population and other census information
(a) The Secretary shall, in the year 1980 and
every 10 years thereafter, take a decennial census of population as of the first day of April of
such year, which date shall be known as the ‘‘decennial census date’’, in such form and content
as he may determine, including the use of sampling procedures and special surveys. In connection with any such census, the Secretary is authorized to obtain such other census information as necessary.
(b) The tabulation of total population by
States under subsection (a) of this section as required for the apportionment of Representatives
in Congress among the several States shall be
completed within 9 months after the census date
and reported by the Secretary to the President
of the United States.

§ 141

(c) The officers or public bodies having initial
responsibility for the legislative apportionment
or districting of each State may, not later than
3 years before the decennial census date, submit
to the Secretary a plan identifying the geographic areas for which specific tabulations of
population are desired. Each such plan shall be
developed in accordance with criteria established by the Secretary, which he shall furnish
to such officers or public bodies not later than
April 1 of the fourth year preceding the decennial census date. Such criteria shall include requirements which assure that such plan shall be
developed in a nonpartisan manner. Should the
Secretary find that a plan submitted by such officers or public bodies does not meet the criteria
established by him, he shall consult to the extent necessary with such officers or public bodies in order to achieve the alterations in such
plan that he deems necessary to bring it into accord with such criteria. Any issues with respect
to such plan remaining unresolved after such
consultation shall be resolved by the Secretary,
and in all cases he shall have final authority for
determining the geographic format of such plan.
Tabulations of population for the areas identified in any plan approved by the Secretary shall
be completed by him as expeditiously as possible
after the decennial census date and reported to
the Governor of the State involved and to the
officers or public bodies having responsibility
for legislative apportionment or districting of
such State, except that such tabulations of population of each State requesting a tabulation
plan, and basic tabulations of population of each
other State, shall, in any event, be completed,
reported, and transmitted to each respective
State within one year after the decennial census
date.
(d) Without regard to subsections (a), (b), and
(c) of this section, the Secretary, in the year
1985 and every 10 years thereafter, shall conduct
a mid-decade census of population in such form
and content as he may determine, including the
use of sampling procedures and special surveys,
taking into account the extent to which information to be obtained from such census will
serve in lieu of information collected annually
or less frequently in surveys or other statistical
studies. The census shall be taken as of the first
day of April of each such year, which date shall
be known as the ‘‘mid-decade census date’’.
(e)(1) If—
(A) in the administration of any program established by or under Federal law which provides benefits to State or local governments or
to other recipients, eligibility for or the
amount of such benefits would (without regard
to this paragraph) be determined by taking
into account data obtained in the most recent
decennial census, and
(B) comparable data is obtained in a middecade census conducted after such decennial
census,
then in the determination of such eligibility or
amount of benefits the most recent data available from either the mid-decade or decennial
census shall be used.
(2) Information obtained in any mid-decade
census shall not be used for apportionment of
Representatives in Congress among the several

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States, nor shall such information be used in
prescribing congressional districts.
(f) With respect to each decennial and middecade census conducted under subsection (a) or
(d) of this section, the Secretary shall submit to
the committees of Congress having legislative
jurisdiction over the census—
(1) not later than 3 years before the appropriate census date, a report containing the
Secretary’s determination of the subjects proposed to be included, and the types of information to be compiled, in such census;
(2) not later than 2 years before the appropriate census date, a report containing the
Secretary’s determination of the questions
proposed to be included in such census; and
(3) after submission of a report under paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection and before
the appropriate census date, if the Secretary
finds new circumstances exist which necessitate that the subjects, types of information,
or questions contained in reports so submitted
be modified, a report containing the Secretary’s determination of the subjects, types
of information, or questions as proposed to be
modified.
(g) As used in this section, ‘‘census of population’’ means a census of population, housing,
and matters relating to population and housing.
(Aug. 31, 1954, ch. 1158, 68 Stat. 1019; Pub. L.
85–207, § 9, Aug. 28, 1957, 71 Stat. 483; Pub. L.
94–171, §§ 1, 2(a), Dec. 23, 1975, 89 Stat. 1023, 1024;
Pub. L. 94–521, § 7(a), Oct. 17, 1976, 90 Stat. 2461.)
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
Based on title 13, U.S.C., 1952 ed., § 201 (June 18, 1929,
ch. 28, § 1, 46 Stat. 21; May 17, 1932, ch. 190, 47 Stat. 158).
References to the Secretary, meaning the Secretary
of Commerce, were substituted for references to the Director of the Census, to conform with 1950 Reorganization Plan No. 5, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64
Stat. 1263. See Revision Note to section 4 of this title.
The provision for taking the censuses in ‘‘1930 and
every ten years thereafter’’ was changed to ‘‘1960 and
every ten years thereafter’’ since the censuses for the
years 1930, 1940 and 1950 have been completed.
The requirement that decennial censuses of ‘‘distribution’’ and ‘‘mines’’ should also be taken was omitted as superseded by section 121 of title 13, U.S.C., 1952
ed. (enacted in 1948), the provisions of which were carried into subchapter I of this chapter.
Section 1442 of title 42, U.S.C., 1952 ed., the Public
Health and Welfare (which section has been transferred
in its entirety to this revised title), made all provisions
of chapter 4 of title 13, U.S.C., 1952 ed., applicable to the
housing censuses provided for in such section. However,
section 201 of such title 13 (which section was a part of
such chapter 4), which, as indicated above, has been
carried into this revised section, could not, except, possibly, for the provisions thereof relating to the territorial scope of the censuses and to the census duties of
the governors of Guam, Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and
the Canal Zone, have any relevancy to such housing
censuses, and such section 1442 of title 42, U.S.C., 1952
ed., contained its own provisions relating to territorial
scope of the housing censuses. Therefore the provisions
of this revised section have not been made so applicable.
Changes were made in phraseology.
AMENDMENTS
1976—Pub. L. 94–521 substituted ‘‘Population and
other census information’’ for ‘‘Population, unemployment, and housing’’ in section catchline, without reference to amendment of catchline by Pub. L. 94–171.

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Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94–521 substituted ‘‘1980’’ for
‘‘1960’’ and ‘‘decennial census of population’’ for ‘‘census of population, unemployment, and housing (including utilities and equipment)’’, inserted ‘‘of such year’’
after ‘‘April’’, substituted ‘‘which date shall be known
as the decennial census date’’ for ‘‘which shall be
known as the census date’’, and inserted provisions authorizing the Secretary to take the decennial census in
whatever form and content he determines, using sampling procedures and special surveys, and authorizing
him to obtain other such census information as is necessary, in connection with the decennial census.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 94–521 inserted ‘‘under subsection
(a) of this section’’ after ‘‘population by States’’, inserted ‘‘in Congress among the several States’’ after
‘‘Representatives’’, and substituted ‘‘9 months after the
census date’’ for ‘‘eight months of the census date’’.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 94–521 substituted ‘‘the decennial
census date’’ for ‘‘the census date’’ wherever appearing.
Subsecs. (d) to (g). Pub. L. 94–521 added subsecs. (d) to
(g).
1975—Pub. L. 94–171, § 2(a), inserted ‘‘; tabulation for
legislative apportionment’’ in section catchline.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 94–171, § 1, added subsec. (c).
1957—Pub. L. 85–207 substituted ‘‘Population, unemployment, and housing’’ for ‘‘Population, agriculture,
irrigation, drainage, and unemployment; territory excluded’’ in section catchline; inserted in text housing
census provisions, struck out census coverage of agriculture, irrigation, and drainage and geographical provisions, and designated existing provisions as so
amended as subsec. (a); and added subsec. (b). Census of
agriculture, irrigation, and drainage and the geographical provisions are covered by sections 142 and 191 of this
title.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1976 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 94–521 effective Oct. 17, 1976,
see section 17 of Pub. L. 94–521, set out as a note under
section 1 of this title.
STATISTICAL SAMPLING OR ADJUSTMENT IN DECENNIAL
ENUMERATION OF POPULATION
Pub. L. 105–119, title II, § 209, Nov. 26, 1997, 111 Stat.
2480, provided that:
‘‘(a) Congress finds that—
‘‘(1) it is the constitutional duty of the Congress to
ensure that the decennial enumeration of the population is conducted in a manner consistent with the
Constitution and laws of the United States;
‘‘(2) the sole constitutional purpose of the decennial
enumeration of the population is the apportionment
of Representatives in Congress among the several
States;
‘‘(3) section 2 of the 14th article of amendment to
the Constitution clearly states that Representatives
are to be ‘apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the
whole number of persons in each State’;
‘‘(4) article I, section 2, clause 3 of the Constitution
clearly requires an ‘actual Enumeration’ of the population, and section 195 of title 13, United States Code,
clearly provides ‘Except for the determination of population for purposes of apportionment of Representatives in Congress among the several States, the Secretary shall, if he considers it feasible, authorize the
use of the statistical method known as ‘‘sampling’’ in
carrying out the provisions of this title.’;
‘‘(5) the decennial enumeration of the population is
one of the most critical constitutional functions our
Federal Government performs;
‘‘(6) it is essential that the decennial enumeration
of the population be as accurate as possible, consistent with the Constitution and laws of the United
States;
‘‘(7) the use of statistical sampling or statistical adjustment in conjunction with an actual enumeration
to carry out the census with respect to any segment
of the population poses the risk of an inaccurate, invalid, and unconstitutional census;

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‘‘(8) the decennial enumeration of the population is
a complex and vast undertaking, and if such enumeration is conducted in a manner that does not
comply with the requirements of the Constitution or
laws of the United States, it would be impracticable
for the States to obtain, and the courts of the United
States to provide, meaningful relief after such enumeration has been conducted; and
‘‘(9) Congress is committed to providing the level of
funding that is required to perform the entire range
of constitutional census activities, with a particular
emphasis on accurately enumerating all individuals
who have historically been undercounted, and toward
this end, Congress expects—
‘‘(A) aggressive and innovative promotion and
outreach campaigns in hard-to-count communities;
‘‘(B) the hiring of enumerators from within those
communities;
‘‘(C) continued cooperation with local government on address list development; and
‘‘(D) maximized census employment opportunities
for individuals seeking to make the transition from
welfare to work.
‘‘(b) Any person aggrieved by the use of any statistical method in violation of the Constitution or any
provision of law (other than this Act [see Tables for
classification]), in connection with the 2000 or any later
decennial census, to determine the population for purposes of the apportionment or redistricting of Members
in Congress, may in a civil action obtain declaratory,
injunctive, and any other appropriate relief against the
use of such method.
‘‘(c) For purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) the use of any statistical method as part of a
dress rehearsal or other simulation of a census in
preparation for the use of such method, in a decennial
census, to determine the population for purposes of
the apportionment or redistricting of Members in
Congress shall be considered the use of such method
in connection with that census; and
‘‘(2) the report ordered by title VIII of Public Law
105–18 [111 Stat. 217] and the Census 2000 Operational
Plan shall be deemed to constitute final agency action regarding the use of statistical methods in the
2000 decennial census, thus making the question of
their use in such census sufficiently concrete and
final to now be reviewable in a judicial proceeding.
‘‘(d) For purposes of this section, an aggrieved person
(described in subsection (b)) includes—
‘‘(1) any resident of a State whose congressional
representation or district could be changed as a result of the use of a statistical method challenged in
the civil action;
‘‘(2) any Representative or Senator in Congress; and
‘‘(3) either House of Congress.
‘‘(e)(1) Any action brought under this section shall be
heard and determined by a district court of three
judges in accordance with section 2284 of title 28,
United States Code. The chief judge of the United
States court of appeals for each circuit shall, to the extent practicable and consistent with the avoidance of
unnecessary delay, consolidate, for all purposes, in one
district court within that circuit, all actions pending in
that circuit under this section. Any party to an action
under this section shall be precluded from seeking any
consolidation of that action other than is provided in
this paragraph. In selecting the district court in which
to consolidate such actions, the chief judge shall consider the convenience of the parties and witnesses and
efficient conduct of such actions. Any final order or injunction of a United States district court that is issued
pursuant to an action brought under this section shall
be reviewable by appeal directly to the Supreme Court
of the United States. Any such appeal shall be taken by
a notice of appeal filed within 10 days after such order
is entered; and the jurisdictional statement shall be
filed within 30 days after such order is entered. No stay
of an order issued pursuant to an action brought under
this section may be issued by a single Justice of the
Supreme Court.

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‘‘(2) It shall be the duty of a United States district
court hearing an action brought under this section and
the Supreme Court of the United States to advance on
the docket and to expedite to the greatest possible extent the disposition of any such matter.
‘‘(f) Any agency or entity within the executive
branch having authority with respect to the carrying
out of a decennial census may in a civil action obtain
a declaratory judgment respecting whether or not the
use of a statistical method, in connection with such
census, to determine the population for the purposes of
the apportionment or redistricting of Members in Congress is forbidden by the Constitution and laws of the
United States.
‘‘(g) The Speaker of the House of Representatives or
the Speaker’s designee or designees may commence or
join in a civil action, for and on behalf of the House of
Representatives, under any applicable law, to prevent
the use of any statistical method, in connection with
the decennial census, to determine the population for
purposes of the apportionment or redistricting of Members in Congress. It shall be the duty of the Office of
the General Counsel of the House of Representatives to
represent the House in such civil action, according to
the directions of the Speaker. The Office of the General
Counsel of the House of Representatives may employ
the services of outside counsel and other experts for
this purpose.
‘‘(h) For purposes of this section and section 210 [formerly set out below]—
‘‘(1) the term ‘statistical method’ means an activity
related to the design, planning, testing, or implementation of the use of representative sampling, or any
other statistical procedure, including statistical adjustment, to add or subtract counts to or from the
enumeration of the population as a result of statistical inference; and
‘‘(2) the term ‘census’ or ‘decennial census’ means a
decennial enumeration of the population.
‘‘(i) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize the use of any statistical method, in connection
with a decennial census, for the apportionment or redistricting of Members in Congress.
‘‘(j) Sufficient funds appropriated under this Act or
under any other Act for purposes of the 2000 decennial
census shall be used by the Bureau of the Census to
plan, test, and become prepared to implement a 2000 decennial census, without using statistical methods,
which shall result in the percentage of the total population actually enumerated being as close to 100 percent as possible. In both the 2000 decennial census, and
any dress rehearsal or other simulation made in preparation for the 2000 decennial census, the number of persons enumerated without using statistical methods
must be publicly available for all levels of census geography which are being released by the Bureau of the
Census for: (1) all data releases before January 1, 2001;
(2) the data contained in the 2000 decennial census Public Law 94–171 [amending this section] data file released
for use in redistricting; (3) the Summary Tabulation
File One (STF–1) for the 2000 decennial census; and (4)
the official populations of the States transmitted from
the Secretary of Commerce through the President to
the Clerk of the House used to reapportion the districts
of the House among the States as a result of the 2000
decennial census. Simultaneously with any other release or reporting of any of the information described
in the preceding sentence through other means, such
information shall be made available to the public on
the Internet. These files of the Bureau of the Census
shall be available concurrently to the release of the
original files to the same recipients, on identical
media, and at a comparable price. They shall contain
the number of persons enumerated without using statistical methods and any additions or subtractions
thereto. These files shall be based on data gathered and
generated by the Bureau of the Census in its official capacity.
‘‘(k) This section shall apply in fiscal year 1998 and
succeeding fiscal years.’’

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CENSUS MONITORING BOARD

Pub. L. 105–119, title II, § 210(a)–(j), Nov. 26, 1997, 111
Stat. 2483–2487, established the Census Monitoring
Board to observe and monitor all aspects of the preparation and implementation of the 2000 decennial census,
described the membership and duties of the Board, and
provided for its termination on Sept. 30, 2001.
CENSUS DATA ON GRANDPARENTS AS PRIMARY
CAREGIVERS FOR THEIR GRANDCHILDREN
Pub. L. 104–193, title I, § 105, Aug. 22, 1996, 110 Stat.
2163, provided that:
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 22, 1996], the
Secretary of Commerce, in carrying out section 141 of
title 13, United States Code, shall expand the data collection efforts of the Bureau of the Census (in this section referred to as the ‘Bureau’) to enable the Bureau
to collect statistically significant data, in connection
with its decennial census and its mid-decade census,
concerning the growing trend of grandparents who are
the primary caregivers for their grandchildren.
‘‘(b) EXPANDED CENSUS QUESTION.—In carrying out
subsection (a), the Secretary of Commerce shall expand
the Bureau’s census question that details households
which include both grandparents and their grandchildren. The expanded question shall be formulated to
distinguish between the following households:
‘‘(1) A household in which a grandparent temporarily provides a home for a grandchild for a period
of weeks or months during periods of parental distress.
‘‘(2) A household in which a grandparent provides a
home for a grandchild and serves as the primary caregiver for the grandchild.’’
DECENNIAL CENSUS IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1991
Pub. L. 102–135, Oct. 24, 1991, 105 Stat. 635, known as
the Decennial Census Improvement Act of 1991, provided that the Secretary of Commerce was to contract
with the National Academy of Sciences for a study of
the means by which the Government could achieve the
most accurate population count possible and ways for
the Government to collect other demographic and
housing data, and that the Academy was to submit to
the Secretary and to committees of Congress an interim report and, within 36 months after the date of the
contract, a final report on the study.
STUDY OF COUNTING OF HOMELESS FOR NATIONAL
CENSUS
Pub. L. 101–645, title IV, § 402, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat.
4723, provided that not later than 1 year after Nov. 29,
1990, the General Accounting Office was to conduct a
study of the methodology and procedures used by the
Bureau of the Census in counting the number of homeless persons for the most recent decennial census conducted pursuant to this title, to determine the accuracy of such count, and report to the Congress the results of that study.
MONITORING ECONOMIC PROGRESS OF RURAL AMERICA
Pub. L. 101–624, title XXIII, § 2382, Nov. 28, 1990, 104
Stat. 4050, provided that Director of Bureau of the Census was to expand data collection efforts of Bureau to
enable it to collect statistically significant data concerning changing economic condition of rural counties
and communities in United States, including data on
rural employment, poverty, income, and other information concerning rural labor force, and authorized to be
appropriated $1,000,000 for each fiscal year for such efforts, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 104–127, title VII, § 707,
Apr. 4, 1996, 110 Stat. 1112.
AMERICANS OF SPANISH ORIGIN OR DESCENT; STUDY
FOR DEVELOPMENT OF CREDITABLE ESTIMATES IN FUTURE CENSUSES
Pub. L. 94–311, § 4, June 16, 1976, 90 Stat. 688, provided
that: ‘‘The Department of Commerce, in cooperation

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with appropriate Federal, State and local agencies and
various population study groups and experts, shall immediately undertake a study to determine what steps
would be necessary for developing creditable estimates
of undercounts of Americans of Spanish origin or descent in future censuses.’’
NEEDS AND CONCERNS OF SPANISH-ORIGIN POPULATION;
USE OF SPANISH LANGUAGE QUESTIONNAIRES AND BILINGUAL ENUMERATORS
Pub. L. 94–311, § 5, June 16, 1976, 90 Stat. 689, provided
that: ‘‘The Secretary of Commerce shall ensure that, in
the Bureau of the Census data-collection activities, the
needs and concerns of the Spanish-origin population
are given full recognition through the use of Spanish
language questionnaires, bilingual enumerators, and
other such methods as deemed appropriate by the Secretary.’’
EX. ORD. NO. 13880. COLLECTING INFORMATION ABOUT
CITIZENSHIP STATUS IN CONNECTION WITH THE DECENNIAL CENSUS
Ex. Ord. No. 13880, July 11, 2019, 84 F.R. 33821, provided:
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
SECTION 1. Purpose. In Department of Commerce v. New
York, No. 18–966 (June 27, 2019), the Supreme Court held
that the Department of Commerce (Department) may,
as a general matter, lawfully include a question inquiring about citizenship status on the decennial census
and, more specifically, declined to hold that the Secretary of Commerce’s decision to include such a question on the 2020 decennial census was ‘‘substantively
invalid.’’ That ruling was not surprising, given that
every decennial census from 1820 to 2000 (with the single exception of 1840) asked at least some respondents
about their citizenship status or place of birth. In addition, the Census Bureau has inquired since 2005 about
citizenship on the American Community Survey—a
separate questionnaire sent annually to about 2.5 percent of households.
The Court determined, however, that the explanation
the Department had provided for including such a question on the census was, in the circumstances of that
case, insufficient to support the Department’s decision.
I disagree with the Court’s ruling, because I believe
that the Department’s decision was fully supported by
the rationale presented on the record before the Supreme Court.
The Court’s ruling, however, has now made it impossible, as a practical matter, to include a citizenship
question on the 2020 decennial census questionnaire.
After examining every possible alternative, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Commerce have informed me that the logistics and timing for carrying
out the census, combined with delays from continuing
litigation, leave no practical mechanism for including
the question on the 2020 decennial census.
Nevertheless, we shall ensure that accurate citizenship data is compiled in connection with the census by
other means. To achieve that goal, I have determined
that it is imperative that all executive departments
and agencies (agencies) provide the Department the
maximum assistance permissible, consistent with law,
in determining the number of citizens and non-citizens
in the country, including by providing any access that
the Department may request to administrative records
that may be useful in accomplishing that objective.
When the Secretary of Commerce decided to include
the citizenship question on the census, he determined
that such a question, in combination with administrative records, would provide the most accurate and complete data. At that time, the Census Bureau had determined based on experience that administrative records
to which it had access would enable it to determine
citizenship status for approximately 90 percent of the
population. At that point, the benefits of using admin-

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istrative records were limited because the Department
had not yet been able to access several additional important sets of records with critical information on
citizenship. Under the Secretary of Commerce’s decision memorandum directing the Census Bureau ‘‘to further enhance its administrative record data sets’’ and
‘‘to obtain as many additional Federal and state administrative records as possible,’’ the Department has
sought access to several such sets of records maintained by other agencies, but it remains in negotiations
to secure access.
The executive action I am taking today will ensure
that the Department will have access to all available
records in time for use in conjunction with the census.
Therefore, to eliminate delays and uncertainty, and
to resolve any doubt about the duty of agencies to
share data promptly with the Department, I am hereby
ordering all agencies to share information requested by
the Department to the maximum extent permissible
under law.
Access to the additional data identified in section 3 of
this order will ensure that administrative records provide more accurate and complete citizenship data than
was previously available.
I am also ordering the establishment of an interagency working group to improve access to administrative records, with a goal of making available to the Department administrative records showing citizenship
data for 100 percent of the population. And I am ordering the Secretary of Commerce to consider mechanisms
for ensuring that the Department’s existing data-gathering efforts expand the collection of citizenship data
in the future.
Finally, I am directing the Department to strengthen
its efforts, consistent with law, to obtain State administrative records concerning citizenship.
Ensuring that the Department has available the best
data on citizenship that administrative records can
provide, consistent with law, is important for multiple
reasons, including the following.
First, data on the number of citizens and aliens in
the country is needed to help us understand the effects
of immigration on our country and to inform policymakers considering basic decisions about immigration
policy. The Census Bureau has long maintained that
citizenship data is one of the statistics that is ‘‘essential for agencies and policy makers setting and evaluating immigration policies and laws.’’
Today, an accurate understanding of the number of
citizens and the number of aliens in the country is central to any effort to reevaluate immigration policy.
The United States has not fundamentally restructured
its immigration system since 1965. I have explained
many times that our outdated immigration laws no
longer meet contemporary needs. My Administration is
committed to modernizing immigration laws and policies, but the effort to undertake any fundamental reevaluation of immigration policy is hampered when we
do not have the most complete data about the number
of citizens and non-citizens in the country. If we are to
undertake a genuine overhaul of our immigration laws
and evaluate policies for encouraging the assimilation
of immigrants, one of the basic informational building
blocks we should know is how many non-citizens there
are in the country.
Second, the lack of complete data on numbers of citizens and aliens hinders the Federal Government’s ability to implement specific programs and to evaluate policy proposals for changes in those programs. For example, the lack of such data limits our ability to evaluate
policies concerning certain public benefits programs. It
remains the immigration policy of the United States,
as embodied in statutes passed by the Congress, that
‘‘aliens within the Nation’s borders [should] not depend
on public resources to meet their needs, but rather rely
on their own capabilities and the resources of their
families, their sponsors, and private organizations’’ and
that ‘‘the availability of public benefits [should] not
constitute an incentive for immigration to the United
States’’ (8 U.S.C. 1601(2)). The Congress has identified

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compelling Government interests in restricting public
benefits ‘‘in order to assure that aliens be self-reliant
in accordance with national immigration policy’’ and
‘‘to remove the incentive for illegal immigration provided by the availability of public benefits’’ (8 U.S.C.
1601(5), (6)).
Accordingly, aliens are restricted from eligibility for
many public benefits. With limited exceptions, aliens
are ineligible to receive supplemental security income
or food stamps (8 U.S.C. 1612(a)). Aliens who are ‘‘qualified aliens’’—that is, lawful permanent residents, persons granted asylum, and certain other legal immigrants—are, with limited exceptions, ineligible to receive benefits through Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families, Medicaid, and State Children’s Health Insurance Program for 5 years after entry into the United
States (8 U.S.C. 1613(a)). Aliens who are not ‘‘qualified
aliens,’’ such as those unlawfully present, are generally
ineligible for Federal benefits and for State and local
benefits (8 U.S.C. 1611(a), 1621(a)).
The lack of accurate information about the total citizen population makes it difficult to plan for annual expenditures on certain benefits programs. And the lack
of accurate and complete data concerning the alien
population makes it extremely difficult to evaluate the
potential effects of proposals to alter the eligibility
rules for public benefits.
Third, data identifying citizens will help the Federal
Government generate a more reliable count of the unauthorized alien population in the country. Data tabulating both the overall population and the citizen population could be combined with records of aliens lawfully present in the country to generate an estimate of
the aggregate number of aliens unlawfully present in
each State. Currently, the Department of Homeland Security generates an annual estimate of the number of
illegal aliens residing in the United States, but its usefulness is limited by the deficiencies of the citizenship
data collected through the American Community Survey alone, which includes substantial margins of error
because it is distributed to such a small percentage of
the population.
Academic researchers have also been unable to develop useful and reliable numbers of our illegal alien
population using currently available data. A 2018 study
by researchers at Yale University estimated that the illegal alien population totaled between 16.2 million and
29.5 million. Its modeling put the likely number at
about double the conventional estimate. The fact is
that we simply do not know how many citizens, noncitizens, and illegal aliens are living in the United
States.
Accurate and complete data on the illegal alien population would be useful for the Federal Government in
evaluating many policy proposals. When Members of
Congress propose various forms of protected status for
classes of unauthorized immigrants, for example, the
full implications of such proposals can be properly
evaluated only with accurate information about the
overall number of unauthorized aliens potentially at
issue. Similarly, such information is needed to inform
debate about legislative proposals to enhance enforcement of immigration laws and effectuate duly issued
removal orders.
The Federal Government’s need for a more accurate
count of illegal aliens in the country is only made more
acute by the recent massive influx of illegal immigrants at our southern border. In Proclamation 9822 of
November 9, 2018 (Addressing Mass Migration Through
the Southern Border of the United States) [83 F.R.
57661], I explained that our immigration and asylum
system remains in crisis as a consequence of the mass
migration of aliens across our southern border. As a result of our broken asylum laws, hundreds of thousands
of aliens who entered the country illegally have been
released into the interior of the United States pending
the outcome of their removal proceedings. But because
of the massive backlog of cases, hearing dates are
sometimes set years in the future and the adjudication
process often takes years to complete. Aliens not in

[§ 142

TITLE 13—CENSUS

custody routinely fail to appear in court and, even if
they do appear, fail to comply with removal orders.
There are more than 1 million illegal aliens who have
been issued final removal orders from immigration
judges and yet remain at-large in the United States.
Efforts to find solutions that address the immense
number of unauthorized aliens living in our country
should start with accurate information that allows us
to understand the true scope of the problem.
Fourth, it may be open to States to design State and
local legislative districts based on the population of
voter-eligible citizens. In Evenwel v. Abbott, 136 S. Ct.
1120 (2016), the Supreme Court left open the question
whether ‘‘States may draw districts to equalize votereligible population rather than total population.’’
Some States, such as Texas, have argued that ‘‘jurisdictions may, consistent with the Equal Protection
Clause, design districts using any population baseline—
including total population and voter-eligible population—so long as the choice is rational and not invidiously discriminatory’’. Some courts, based on Supreme
Court precedent, have agreed that State districting
plans may exclude individuals who are ineligible to
vote. Whether that approach is permissible will be resolved when a State actually proposes a districting
plan based on the voter-eligible population. But because eligibility to vote depends in part on citizenship,
States could more effectively exercise this option with
a more accurate and complete count of the citizen population.
The Department has said that if the officers or public
bodies having initial responsibility for the legislative
districting in each State indicate a need for tabulations of citizenship data, the Census Bureau will make
a design change to make such information available. I
understand that some State officials are interested in
such data for districting purposes. This order will assist the Department in securing the most accurate and
complete citizenship data so that it can respond to
such requests from the States.
To be clear, generating accurate data concerning the
total number of citizens, non-citizens, and illegal aliens
in the country has nothing to do with enforcing immigration laws against particular individuals. It is important, instead, for making broad policy determinations.
Information obtained by the Department in connection
with the census through requests for administrative
records under 13 U.S.C. 6 shall be used solely to produce
statistics and is subject to confidentiality protections
under Title 13 of the United States Code. Information
subject to confidentiality protections under Title 13
may not, and shall not, be used to bring immigration
enforcement actions against particular individuals.
Under my Administration, the data confidentiality protections in Title 13 shall be fully respected.
SEC. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to
develop complete and accurate data on the number of
citizens, non-citizens, and illegal aliens in the country.
Such data is necessary to understand the effects of immigration on the country, and to inform policymakers
in setting and evaluating immigration policies and
laws, including evaluating proposals to address the current crisis in illegal immigration.
SEC. 3. Assistance to the Department of Commerce and
Maximizing Citizenship Data. (a) All agencies shall
promptly provide the Department the maximum assistance permissible, consistent with law, in determining
the number of citizens, non-citizens, and illegal aliens
in the country, including by providing any access that
the Department may request to administrative records
that may be useful in accomplishing that objective. In
particular, the following agencies shall examine relevant legal authorities and, to the maximum extent
consistent with law, provide access to the following
records:
(i) Department of Homeland Security, United States
Citizenship and Immigration Services—National-level
file of Lawful Permanent Residents, Naturalizations;
(ii) Department of Homeland Security, Immigration
and Customs Enforcement—F1 & M1 Nonimmigrant
Visas;

Page 24

(iii) Department of Homeland Security—Nationallevel file of Customs and Border Arrival/Departure
transaction data;
(iv) Department of Homeland Security and Department of State, Worldwide Refugee and Asylum Processing System—Refugee and Asylum visas;
(v) Department of State—National-level passport application data;
(vi) Social Security Administration—Master Beneficiary Records; and
(vii) Department of Health and Human Services—
CMS Medicaid and CHIP Information System.
(b) The Secretary of Commerce shall instruct the Director of the Census Bureau to establish an interagency
working group to coordinate efforts, consistent with
law, to maximize the availability of administrative
records in connection with the census, with the goal of
obtaining administrative records that can help establish citizenship status for 100 percent of the population.
The Director of the Census Bureau shall chair the
working group, and the head of each agency shall designate a representative to the working group upon request from the working group chair.
(c) To ensure that the Federal Government continues
to collect the most accurate information available concerning citizenship going forward, the Secretary of
Commerce shall consider initiating any administrative
process necessary to include a citizenship question on
the 2030 decennial census and to consider any regulatory changes necessary to ensure that citizenship
data is collected in any other surveys and data-gathering efforts conducted by the Census Bureau, including
the American Community Survey. The Secretary of
Commerce shall also consider expanding the distribution of the American Community Survey, which currently reaches approximately 2.5 percent of households,
to secure better citizenship data.
(d) The Department shall strengthen its efforts, consistent with law, to gain access to relevant State administrative records.
SEC. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create
any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the
United States, its departments, agencies, or entities,
its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
DONALD J. TRUMP.

[§ 142. Repealed. Pub. L. 105–113, § 3(a), Nov. 21,
1997, 111 Stat. 2275]
Section, acts Aug. 31, 1954, ch. 1158, 68 Stat. 1020; Aug.
28, 1957, Pub. L. 85–207, § 10, 71 Stat. 483; Mar. 15, 1976,
Pub. L. 94–229, § 1, 90 Stat. 210; Oct. 27, 1986, Pub. L.
99–544, § 1(a), 100 Stat. 3046, provided that Secretary of
Commerce take periodic censuses of agriculture and irrigation.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF REPEAL
Repeal effective Oct. 1, 1998, see section 3(d) of Pub.
L. 105–113, set out as an Effective Date of 1997 Amendment note under section 1991 of Title 7, Agriculture.
1997 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE
Pub. L. 105–86, title I, Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 2083, provided in part: ‘‘That, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Agriculture shall conduct
the 1997 Census of Agriculture, to the extent practicable, pursuant to the provisions of title 13, United
States Code.’’