Wrong on every count. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the Department of Commerce, which is an executive agency. Article II, Section 1, Clause 1 vests all executive power in the President of the United States. That authority includes directing federal agencies to conduct special surveys, supplemental enumerations, or mid-decade censuses under 13 U.S.C. § 141(a) and § 141(d). The statute explicitly allows the Secretary to collect “such other census information as necessary” and to use “sampling procedures and special surveys.” Article I, Section 8, Clause 4 states “To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization.” Congress alone defines who may enter the political community. Illegal aliens are not citizens and are not part of the apportionment base. Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 requires apportionment according to the “respective Numbers” of each state, “excluding Indians not taxed.” That is proof that not all persons physically present are counted for representation. The exclusion turned on political jurisdiction, not mere presence. Illegal aliens are outside that jurisdiction for representation. Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1 provides “The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.” Privileges and immunities are for citizens, not for foreign nationals who entered unlawfully. The 14th Amendment requires apportionment by the “whole number of persons in each state,” but that language must be read with the jurisdictional limits recognized in the original text. Those outside lawful U.S. political jurisdiction, such as “Indians not taxed,” were excluded. The same principle applies to illegal aliens. What you call a power grab is a correction to an unconstitutional practice that rewards states for harboring foreign nationals in violation of immigration law. Counting illegal aliens for apportionment dilutes the lawful representation of American citizens and undermines the republican form of government guaranteed by Article IV, Section 4. The Constitution does not protect the results of a violation of law. If seats in the House were gained by counting those outside U.S. jurisdiction, those seats were unlawfully obtained. Correcting that is a constitutional obligation, not an abuse of power.