Amendment would strip representation from high-immigration states
H.J.Res. 37 — Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to provide that Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the number of persons in each State who are citizens of the United States. · Filed by Warren Davidson (R-OH) · 6 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 6, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment that would change how House seats are apportioned among states. Currently, apportionment is based on total population (including non-citizens); this amendment would count only U.S. citizens. The effect would shift representation away from states with larger non-citizen populations (typically high-immigration states) toward states with higher citizen-only populations.
Why we flagged it
The bill proposes a structural change to how House representation is calculated and distributed among states, shifting the basis from total population to citizen-only population. This is a direct reallocation of political power, not a new program or regulatory change.
What the text implies
- States with large undocumented or temporary-visa populations (California, Texas, Florida, New York) would lose House seats and Electoral College votes, while states with lower immigration would gain both.
- The amendment does not define 'citizen' or specify how citizenship would be verified in the decennial census, creating potential implementation ambiguity.
- Ratification requires 38 state legislatures; states that would lose seats are unlikely to ratify, making passage extremely difficult as a practical matter.
- The change would alter the Electoral College composition (which is tied to House + Senate representation), affecting presidential election outcomes.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Citizens in high-immigration states would lose direct representation in Congress, reducing their voice in federal lawmaking. Citizens in lower-immigration states would gain representation. The change affects democratic representation itself — a fundamental civic good — but redistributes it based on immigration status rather than expanding or protecting rights universally.
Named in the bill
U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Census Bureau, State legislatures, Electoral College
Where it stands
6 cosponsors: 6 Republicans.
- Feb 6, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 6, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,602 characters) on Jun 8, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Amendment would strip representation from high-immigration states” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hjres37 Report an error
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