Elon Musk recently claimed that Democrats are strategically increasing the number of undocumented immigrants in states like California and New York to gain more congressional seats and electoral college votes in future elections. He suggests this is being done in anticipation of the 2030 census, implying an effort to manipulate political representation. Musk also expressed concern that California’s Proposition 50, details of which were not readily available, would exacerbate the alleged issue.
The apportionment of congressional seats and electoral votes is indeed determined by a state’s population count from the decennial census. While the census aims to count every person residing in the United States, regardless of immigration status, the inclusion of undocumented immigrants in population counts used for apportionment has been a subject of debate. Data from organizations like the Pew Research Center indicates fluctuating numbers of undocumented immigrants in the U.S., but it does not provide evidence to support claims of a deliberate political strategy to inflate these numbers for electoral gain. The potential impact of specific state propositions on this complex issue requires further, verifiable information.
