/mlpol/ - My Little Politics

The Department of Commerce has announced that it will include a question about citizenship on the 2020 U.S. Census.
>After a thorough review of the legal, program, and policy considerations, as well as numerous discussions with Census Bureau leadership, Members of Congress, and interested stakeholders, Secretary Ross has determined that reinstatement of a citizenship question on the 2020 decennial census questionnaire is necessary to provide complete and accurate census block level data.
http://archive.is/bKJCP

If Congress were then to act and shift congressional apportionment to be distributed among states in terms of the number of citizens rather than the total population, this would massively shift power away from states with massive illegal immigrant populations (Democrat states) and towards states with more citizens, causing blue and purple states to lose representatives in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College, and red states to gain representatives.
>For example, California has an estimated three million illegal aliens, a total of about 5.3 million noncitizens, and a total population of about 39.5 million residents. Currently, California has 53 congressional seats, the most in the country. If California’s congressional districts were set by the number of citizens in the state, it would potentially lose three to five congressional seats, leaving the state with about 48 to 50 seats.
>Likewise, Florida — which has a noncitizen population of about 2.2 million people — would not gain any congressional seats if only citizens were counted. Under the current standards, they are expected to gain two seats.
>Currently, congressional districts are set by the total number of residents. Each district cannot have less than 711,000 unless they are the only district in the state, like Wyoming.
>If congressional districts were set by the number of citizens, the overall average population needed per congressional seat could decrease to about 670,000 citizens per district. This would give a stronger advantage for states with small illegal alien populations to gain and keep their current number of congressional seats.
>For instance, if by counting citizens, a state like Ohio with few illegal aliens, could possibly gain a congressional seat, increasing the state’s total number of representatives to 17. Current projections suggest Ohio will lose a congressional seat.
>In West Virginia, which is also slated to lose a congressional seat, the state could keep their three districts if the redistricting is counted by citizens.
>Indiana, as well, — with less than 180,000 noncitizen residents — would potentially increase its congressional seats from nine to ten if apportionment is based on the number of citizens in the state.
>The electoral power shift away from elite coastal metropolises and towards more rural, middle American regions — should Congress choose to apportion districts based on citizens — would be one of the Trump administration’s most prominent immigration initiatives.
http://archive.is/QvDGg

Naturally, Democrats are extremely opposed to the plan, with 12 states already preparing a lawsuit against the plan
>Twelve states have agreed to sign on to a lawsuit which seeks to block a question about citizenship being asked on the 2020 Census, stating that the query violates the Constitution, which mandates that all residents of the U.S. must be counted, regardless of immigration status.
>New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said March 27 he would lead a multistate lawsuit to block the decision. Separately, the state of California filed a lawsuit March 27 with the District Court of Northern California (see earlier India-West story: https://bit.ly/2E2YhSs).
>New Jersey state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, who is Indian American, announced March 27 that his state would join Schneiderman’s lawsuit. “Notwithstanding the Administration’s rhetoric, we don’t need a citizenship question on the 2020 Census. And the reality is that such a question would only do harm,” said Grewal.
>"Particularly in the current national climate, a citizenship question will obviously cause great consternation and discourage participation in the Census. That lack of participation will inevitably have far-reaching, negative effects – particularly in New Jersey, where we have the third largest percentage of immigrants in the country,” said Grewal, the first Sikh American attorney general in the nation.
>The announcement has unleashed a volley of ire in the immigrant community, which believes that asking about citizenship will discourage minority communities from participating, leading to a huge undercount.
http://archive.is/ZdbMm
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