Illegal immigrants shouldn't be counted in Census

Hat tip to The Uncooperative Blogger

UPDATE: COMMITTEES OF CORRESPONDENCE has a post on this subject that goes above and beyond and is more fitting to the original request. Don't bother reading further here - GET OVER THERE

Update: You may also want to pay a visit to The Violence Worker to see if he has anything to say on this subject.

What an idea.....

If these trends continue, we will be looking at upwards of 15 million illegal aliens in the United States for the 2010 census, maybe more. And the result will be more seats lost in states that have actually increased in population of law-abiding U.S. citizens. - Montana Senator Conrad Burns

From the Independent Record:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Montana Sen. Conrad Burns has proposed excluding illegal immigrants from the congressional apportionment process, a move that could shift House seats from growing border states to smaller states with lower immigrant populations.

Burns, R-Mont., introduced legislation Tuesday that would require the Secretary of Commerce, who oversees the Census Bureau, to adjust the population numbers used to apportion congressional seats to exclude illegal immigrants.

The Census Bureau does not currently distinguish illegal immigrants in its population estimates gathered every 10 years.

Montana has one House seat for about 920,000 people, while the average member represents about 650,000. Burns says that the nation's estimated 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants are distorting Montana's congressional representation.

"If these trends continue, we will be looking at upwards of 15 million illegal aliens in the United States for the 2010 census, maybe more," Burns said Tuesday. "And the result will be more seats lost in states that have actually increased in population of law-abiding U.S. citizens."

Steven Camarota, research director at the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, says the proposal has good intentions but could be difficult to implement.

The Census Bureau could ask immigrants if they are in the United States illegally, he said, but that would require changing census forms and trusting people to answer the question honestly.

"The bottom line is that you are opened up to all kinds of legal and practical challenges," he said. "The way to fix it is to have a whole lot fewer illegals."

A 2003 report written by Camarota's group calculated that the presence of illegal immigrants cost Montana a seat it would have otherwise gained.

"Thankfully, my state of Montana cannot lose any more seats in the House of Representatives," Burns said. "We are down to our last one. Other states, however, will not be so fortunate."

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.**

Coalition Against Illegal Immigration
DeMediacrat
War On Terror