Bill to Restore US Citizenship Question to Census Wins House OK

Legislation adopted Wednesday by the House of Representatives would restore a query about U.S. citizenship to the 2030 census, probably reshaping congressional illustration and the Electoral College.

Lawmakers voted, 206-202, to move the Equal Representation Act, a invoice championed by Reps. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., and Warren Davidson, R-Ohio. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., launched the Senate model, which Republicans overwhelmingly supported in a March vote.

With hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens residing within the United States—an issue exacerbated by the Biden administration’s border insurance policies—the laws goals to defend Americans’ electoral energy and congressional illustration by guaranteeing overseas residents aren’t counted within the census.

“If you are an illegal immigrant, you should not be represented in the U.S. Congress,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., informed The Daily Signal. “It’s a shame that House Democrats are allowing their open-borders agenda to get in the way of common sense.”

One of these Democrats overtly acknowledged the advantages of counting unlawful aliens. Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., admitted, “We have a diaspora that can absorb a significant number of these migrants. … I need more people in my district just for redistricting purposes.”

After being in all however one census from 1820 to 2000, the citizenship query was deserted within the 2010 questionnaire in the course of the Obama administration. The Trump administration tried to restore the citizenship query for the 2020 census, however a divided Supreme Court dominated towards its strategy, and the concept was deserted.

The Equal Representation Act would require the citizenship query on the 2030 census and every decennial census that follows.

Heritage Action, an impartial companion of The Heritage Foundation, advocated for passage of the Equal Representation Act. The group scored Wednesday’s vote on HR 7109. (The Heritage Foundation created The Daily Signal in 2014.)

Ryan Walker, Heritage Action’s government vice chairman, faulted the Obama administration for undoing almost 200 years of precedent. Walker stated the results of inaction are important, given the continued border crisis.

“Illegal immigrants and other noncitizens cannot vote, and should not be given the power to sway our elections or congressional maps—especially in light of Joe Biden’s border crisis that has brought more than 10 million people into our country,” Walker stated. “The Equal Representation Act puts electoral power back in the hands of those with the right to vote—American citizens—something every member of Congress must protect.”

The House model amassed 114 co-sponsors and was accepted by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability in April on a 22-20 vote.

“Members of Congress represent U.S. citizens, not foreigners,” stated Davidson, the invoice’s co-sponsor. “Under the Democrats’ open-border policies, sanctuary cities and states inflate their population with illegal aliens. Then they’re rewarded with more congressional representation by a census that counts illegals. The inflated count is then used to draw congressional maps, undermining fair representation for our citizens.”

Edwards careworn solely American residents can legally vote, “so, only American citizens should be counted when determining federal representation.”

Hagerty pressured a vote on the Equal Representation Act in March. It in the end failed, 51-45, though just one Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voted towards it. Three different Republicans didn’t vote.