There seems to be a big debate over a question proposed for the coming 2020 nationwide census. The question asks people whether they are citizens of the United States of America. This is a legitimate question if the count of folks in this country is supposed to be counting citizens; not illegal aliens, visa overstays, visitors, and others who happen to be in the country.
Those who are complaining about this question say it would worsen the undercount of Latinos and non-citizens compared with other groups. If they are in the country illegally, I would hope this would exactly be the case. This is the point. Do not count non-citizens.
Why is this important? Millions of dollars of federal funding, that is your tax-payer money, is allocated to areas of the country based upon population count. The money is supposed to be for programs and projects that benefit citizens, not those here illegally or temporarily. Too much of that goes on already.
The other huge reason is representation in the United States House of Representatives is based upon population count. Congressional seat apportionment is based upon population. The more people in an area, the more Representatives they are allowed in Congress. This is across the country but I think you probably can guess who is complaining the loudest about the citizenship question being included in the census questionnaire: Democrats in California and New York.
Democrats want illegal aliens to be counted. More voters for them and more Representatives in Congress for the Democrat Party. Not counting non-citizens would result in a shift away for Congressional representation from Democrat strong holds and back to states with citizens.
It must be noted a question about citizenship is not new to the census process. It was asked in the 1950 census, so a precedent was set. It was not declared un-Constitutional then and should not be now. It remains to be seen, however, given challenges have been filed in courts located where….. California and New York…. where liberal judges remain in the majority on the bench. Likely, the issue will wind up before the Supreme Court of the United States.
There is zero logic to support counting those in an official census that are not citizens of the United States. Congressional representation should be for citizens only. Monies allocated back to states by Congress should be for the benefit of citizens only. Citizens only should be the ones allowed to vote in elections. Citizens only should be the ones who benefit from tax-payer services and benefits.
This is not to say we should not know about all others who are in the country. We should. We must. Only then can the millions here illegally be held accountable under the laws of the USA. So, the question is a good one: citizen or not. Respond or not.