As the Supreme Court of the United States considers whether the Trump administration may follow through with plans to ask about citizenship as part of the 2020 census, one Alabama state representative is leading the effort among state policymakers to support the requirement.
State Rep. Wes Allen (R-Troy) has sponsored a resolution in the Alabama legislature urging the court to allow questions pertaining to citizenship status to be included on the upcoming 2020 census.
“The census taking place in 2020 will help determine important issues like the number of seats each state will hold in the U.S. House of Representatives and the amount of population-based federal funding that will be awarded,” Allen said. “While Alabama has taken a hard stance against illegal immigration, liberal states like California, New York, and Massachusetts have thrown open their borders to those who break our laws with their simple presence. In essence, they stand to benefit by thumbing their noses at long-standing federal immigration law.”
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and Congressman Mo Brooks have both been part of the lawsuit as they seek to prevent illegal immigrants from counting toward the nation’s population.
Marshall recently spoke to “The Jeff Poor Show” about the negative effects of counting illegal immigrants and his reason for joining the lawsuit.
“It won’t surprise anybody that means that our electoral vote will go to the state of California,” Marshall said. “And I’m not willing to sit idly by and let that happen.”
Brooks has been out front on the issue for much the same reason.
“Congressional seats should be apportioned based on the population of American citizens, not illegal aliens,” Brooks explained. “After all, this is America, not the United Nations.”
Allen pointed out that the position of his caucus and the Trump administration is backed by long-standing precedent.
“Questions regarding citizenship have been included in the U.S. Census as far back as 1820, and Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom are among the counties that routinely ask them,” he noted. “Including questions about citizenship on the census should be common sense, not controversial.”
Allen fears not asking about citizenship will end up rewarding areas of the country which ignore America’s immigration laws.
He warned that federal dollars and increased representation in Congress would go toward areas that harbor illegal immigrants.
The resolution has been adopted by the House Republican Caucus and will be sent to the court prior to oral arguments in the Department of Commerce v. New York case.
Tim Howe is an owner and editor of Yellowhammer News
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