Immigration experts are concerned about the impact of illegal immigration on states’ representation in the House of Representatives and Electoral College.
President Biden’s executive order includes noncitizens in the census count, affecting apportionment of House seats and electoral votes.
With an estimated 16.8 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., their inclusion affects House seat allocation.
Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, said, “Illegal immigration has all kinds of effects and among them is that it distorts the mechanics of democratic government,”
“Illegal immigrants aren’t even supposed to be here, so their inclusion in the census count for purposes of apportionment really is outrageous,” he continued.
Krikorian said, “There are a lot of close votes in Congress, more than there used to be. So, it can, in fact, make a difference.”
“It shouldn’t be a question of: Does this give you personally more influence in Washington? The question should be: Is it right? Is it healthy for our democratic process to be distorted this way? The answer is no,” concluded the executive director.
Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, said, “It doesn’t get enough attention, and with millions coming in right now, it deserves a bright, hot spotlight.”
Calls have been made to exclude noncitizens from apportionment to ensure only American citizens influence elections.
Proposed legislation aims to address these issues by requiring a citizenship question in the census.
Lora Ries and the President of the Immigration Center For Enforcement, RJ Hauman, wrote to Congress, “Barring the Census from including noncitizens in apportionment is critical in making sure that American citizens — the only population who can and should vote in U.S. elections — are picking America’s leaders.”
“Biden’s intentional border crisis has produced unprecedented apportionment issues, distorting the representation that states have in the House, and how many electoral votes they have in presidential elections,” warned the two activists.
Sen. Bill Hagerty said, “It is unconscionable that illegal immigrants and noncitizens are counted toward congressional district apportionment and our electoral map.”
“While people continue to flee Democrat-run cities, desperate Democrats are back-filling the mass exodus with illegal immigrants so that they do not lose their seats in Congress and maintain electoral votes for the presidency and hence artificially boost their political power, which in turn dilutes the power of other Americans’ votes,” he continued.
Eric Ruark, the director of research for NumbersUSA, said, “It obviously helps states that have a high illegal immigrant population. The best way to say it is it’s a perverse incentive to states to grow their population through illegal immigration.”
“Federal dollars are also based upon population. States who have a higher illegal immigrant population are going to see more federal funding,” explained the researcher.
“To have a democratic society, you need to recognize limits on who qualifies as a citizen or as someone who has representation. And I don’t know if Americans really believe that anyone who shows up and comes over the border should be represented equally in Congress as compared to American citizens,” declared Ruark.
The debate centers around the potential distortion of democratic processes and representation due to illegal immigration.
Most Popular:
Cause of Death Released For ‘Rocky’ Movie Star
Supreme Court Audio Suggests Trump Case Is Doomed