Posted on 04/23/2019 5:19:19 AM PDT by reaganaut1
The Supreme Court Tuesday will hear oral arguments in the Trump administration’s appeal of lower-court orders forbidding it to ask a citizenship question in the 2020 census. The justices’ task in Department of Commerce v. New York won’t be difficult: The law and facts overwhelmingly support the administration. But the case is a proxy for future battles over redistricting and reapportionment, vital components of American democracy that determine the balance of political power within and among states.
The Census Act grants the commerce secretary discretion to conduct the census “in such form and content as he may determine.” In rejecting the citizenship question, the lower courts usurped that authority and frustrated Congress’s intent. The question about citizenship is far from unprecedented: It was asked in every census but one from 1820 to 1950. Most advanced democracies ask for citizenship information in censuses, a United Nations-recommended best practice.
The administration argues that the citizenship data would help in enforcement of the Voting Rights Act, and that is manifestly true. By law, “majority minority” districts must be drawn so at least 50% of eligible voters—i.e., citizens over 18—are members of the minority in question. If too many minority residents are ineligible to vote, that defeats the purpose of avoiding the dilution of minority voting strength. Voting-rights litigation and compliance are hampered by the lack of citizenship data in the decennial census.
...
Factoring such aliens into reapportionment and redistricting does nothing for them, as it does not change immigration status. Rather, it rewards state policies designed to subvert the Immigration and Nationality Act and to achieve enhanced representation at the expense of more law-abiding states. Today’s case marks only the beginning of a larger debate over these questions.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
If someone is eligible to vote in another countries election they should not have voting rights in the US or be represented. Otherwise we will end up with even more foreign influence of our elections. Do we want Russian citizens controlling a congressional district in Miami. Or Somali citizens controlling a district in Minnesota?
Let’s ask:
1) Are you, and is everyone in your household a US citizen?
AND
2) Including any babies still in the womb, how many people are in your household?
Count the unborn, don’t count illegals!
“The problem is that silly little quote, “Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed.” “Whole number of persons” not “whole number of citizens”.
Does each state get to count the ‘persons’ that are just passing thru, or is it limited to state residents?
If the count is done in winter some southern states would have wildly different populations than they would have in summer.
Do any of these fools think that American citizens in a foreign country have “representation” in those countries? With the exception of a self-defense treatied partner country.
We are not the govt. of the world— our government is the Citizen’s government, by consent. It is NOT our consent that our treasure and work go to reward people who are NOT in any way vested in our Constitution and remarkable form of government.
“Whole number of persons”
Everyone. Citizens, non-citizens, children. Not just those eligible to vote.
Just what the Democrats want, give greater representation in Congress to the sanctuary cities at the expense of the rest of the country. Step two give non citizens the vote and step three have direct election of the president.... result a single party government. Our Founding Fathers are spinning in their graves
They already have the vote in California via ballot harvesting, a practice outlawed in every other state of the union, the sole reason that the Donks took the house.
Sure they should be represented, even if they cannot read or write English , we could print ballots in 15 different languages! ( heavy sarc.)
California would lose 5-7 congressional seats, New York 1-2, Illinois 1 if illegal aliens are removed from the counts, or are afraid to answer the Census.
That illegal aliens, through additional Congressional representation in those districts should even be factored in the vote and apportionment is ridiculous.
Democrats complain about the pre-Civil War worth of blacks being 3/5th human, a move that was actually done to restrict slave states from using blacks to pad their congressional representation with black slave people counts.
Democrats now want to let real citizens in illegal immigrant states like California to get 6/5ths representation by including illegals. So while your state has one representative per 750,000 CITIZENS, California has one congressgirl per 650,000 citizens.
One man, one vote? Hah!
I am glad this question was not asked in 1812.
How many seats in congress should the Russian’s get?
Well, there is Islamic representation in Congress!
The joke about Americans assuming the status of illegal alien in order to reap generous benefits from the government is darn near 2 decades old by now.
The representation of non-citizens was explicitly for the purpose of slave states getting electoral credit for slaves.
Which reveals the real reason for the Left wanting illegals in the first place: illegals are a slave class.
Its no longer a joke now. Its darn near reality.
People residing in the state.
If the count is done in winter some southern states would have wildly different populations than they would have in summer.
But they have a permanent legal address do they not?
No that was the purpose of the 3/5th clause which was removed by the 14th Amendment.
Good points!
Legal Immigrants do not get citizenship immediately. They first receive permanent resident visa, also known as the Green Card (because it is green color).
Then after 5 years of residency, they can apply for US citizenship, if they have not accumulated any criminal record. Only then they should run for any elected position.
The operative phrase is “among the several states.” Under the Constitution, legal aliens are counted when determining how many congresscriters each state gets. It is arguable whether illegal aliens are counted, since they have no right to be present in any state and by law should be present only temporarily, until they can be found and deported.
There is no Constitutional requirement that aliens, legal or illegal, be counted for any other purpose, including the drawing of congressional or any other districts within each state. Under the Voting Rights Act, aliens cannot be counted if the goal is to protect minority voting rights. Otherwise, a state could pack a district with illegal aliens and count it as a majority minority district even though most of the voters in the district are white.
As the government welfare handouts become more and more generous, those receiving it become more and more liberal. They vote for the politicians who will give them most free stuff. Which is usually democrats.
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