WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) have introduced a bill that requires the U.S. Census Bureau to include citizenship questions about all future censuses and prevents non-citizen immigrants, including undocumented immigrants.
The proposed law is supported by Republican Sens. Tim Sheehee (R-MT), John Haven (R-ND), Mike Lee (R-UT), and James Lankford (R-OK). Supporters of the bill argue that the current census will unfairly inflate political expression in states with large, undocumented immigrant groups, such as California, at the expense of other states like Florida.
“Illegal aliens should not be allowed to break the law and be rewarded with taxpayer-funded benefits, and he says evacuating them should not in turn increase their influence in Washington,” Senator Scott said. “This bill ensures that states like California do not gain an unfair advantage over states like Florida, and every citizen’s vote has equal weight.”
Senator Hagerty reflected these concerns and argued that counting non-citizens in the census would lead to distorting Congressional representatives. “It’s ruthless that illegal immigrants and non-citizens are counted on parliamentary district allocations and presidency election maps,” Hagerty said. “This law ensures that only citizens are counted in the change of districts of the assembly.”
The bill reflects on the ongoing Republican push to change the way the federal government conducts the 10-year census, the process of determining the distribution of seats in Congress and federal funds. Including the issue of citizenship has been a topic of contention in recent years, and opposition argues that it could block participation and lead to infiltration of certain groups.
