COUNT Act

The Citizen Only Updated National Tally Act, or COUNT Act, establishes a national policy to collect complete and accurate data on the number of citizens, noncitizens, and illegal aliens residing in the United States. This data is deemed essential for understanding the effects of immigration and for informing policymakers in setting and evaluating immigration laws, particularly concerning illegal immigration. To achieve this, the bill mandates that all federal agencies provide the Department of Commerce with maximum assistance in determining citizenship status, including access to administrative records. Federal agencies, including the Departments of Homeland Security and State, are specifically directed to provide access to relevant administrative records such as lawful permanent resident files, visa data, and arrival/departure information. The Secretary of Commerce is also required to initiate the process for including a citizenship question on the 2030 decennial census and to expand its collection in other surveys like the American Community Survey. An interagency working group will coordinate efforts to maximize the availability of administrative records to establish citizenship status for the entire population, and the Department of Commerce must strengthen efforts to gain access to relevant State administrative records . Additionally, the legislation mandates that the Bureau of the Census terminate the use of the differential privacy process within six months, requiring public guidance on how individual response privacy will be guaranteed thereafter.