FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Census takers in 2010 won't be allowed to ask people if they are U.S. citizens. That's because Senate Democrats have blocked a Republican attempt that would have required census forms to inquire about citizenship.
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Louisiana Republican Senator David Vitter had introduced the measure... meant to exclude illegal aliens from the population count. Vitter says including illegals in the census is "wrong" and goes against the idea of the Congress as an institution that represents citizens.
The Census carries a lot of weight - it's used both as the basis for apportioning congressional districts for the following 10 years; and it serves as a guide for distributing billions of dollars in federal aid.
Critics say the plan would discourage immigrants from participating in the Census... they insist the law states congressional seats are determined by the number of people living in each state - regardless of whether they're citizens.
The Census Director also opposes the proposal... he says asking about U.S. citizenship is "just not doable" and would mean delaying the census.
Not counting illegal aliens in the census could potentially hit states like California and Texas the hardest when it comes to apportioning Congressional districts. Those two states are where there's a high concentration of undocumented immigrants. It's estimated there are 12 million illegal aliens in the U.S.
Here’s my question to you: Should the U.S. Census Bureau be allowed to ask if you're a citizen?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
David writes:
If the census results are used to determine the make-up of Congress, then the Census Bureau must be able to discern citizens from non-citizens… The idea of "accidentally" counting 12 million illegals and then creating more seats in Congress from those districts would do nothing more than massively stack the deck against any kind of meaningful resolution to the illegal immigration problem.
J. from Green Cove Springs, Florida writes:
The census taker should be required to ask for proof of citizenship, with all non-citizens being reported to local authorities. If we are paying to do the survey, we should get the benefit of identifying illegals. What's so bad about multitasking?
Scott writes:
Does it really matter if they are American or not? They live here and it would be an injustice to leave any one person out. This country was founded by immigrants and any person living here should be counted.
Heather writes:
Yes, people should be asked if they are citizens of the U.S. or not. However, I doubt if many illegals will want to fill out the forms, as they are not supposed to be here. They should be counted for information purposes, but since they cannot legally vote anyway, they should not be counted for population of voting congressional districts. How utterly ridiculous, when you think about it.
Sukumar writes:
The census asks many questions. I don't see what the big deal is in asking one more question on citizenship (yes or no). The data is useful whether they are or not. What's wrong with the bozos against it?
Jim from Craig, Colorado writes:
You don't seem naive, but just how many illegal aliens do you think would say that they were not a citizen?
Vicky writes:
They can ask whatever they want, just as I can choose to answer however I want!