census will not ask about citizenship or legal status

[justashooter 430]

"The Commerce Department and Census Bureau declared Tuesday that an amendment by Sen. David Vitter, R-La., to require the 2010 census to ask all persons their citizenship and immigration status would scuttle any chance that the census could be done on time and would cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

U.S. Sen. David Vitter portrays his amendment as an attempt to keep Louisiana from losing one of its seven congressional districts in the coming reapportionment.The warning came even as the Senate Democratic leadership sought to head off a vote on the Vitter amendment to the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill. An effort by the leadership to invoke cloture failed Tuesday evening, with the fight over whether to vote on the Vitter amendment, which he co-sponsored with Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, expected to resume today.

Vitter portrays his amendment as a last-ditch effort to protect the political power of Louisiana and other states with relatively small populations of people who are either not citizens or are not legal residents in the United States, and keep Louisiana from losing one of its seven congressional districts in the coming reapportionment.

The decennial census, required by the Constitution to count all "persons," is used for the purposes of congressional apportionment and legislative redistricting. The result is that places with more people -- regardless of their status -- get more representation.

Or as Vitter put it in floor debate on his amendment last week, "States that have large populations of illegals would be rewarded for that. Other states, including my home state of Louisiana, would be penalized."

Vitter said that in addition to Louisiana, the states of Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania and South Carolina "would lose out." He challenged the senators from those states, "if you vote against this amendment, then you are voting against the interests of your state."

By far the biggest winner under the existing system is California, followed by Texas, New York and Florida.

But opponents of the measure described it as ill-advised, and in its intent, both unconstitutional and discriminatory.

The Census Bureau, and the Commerce Department of which it is a part, said that 425 million of the 600 million census forms already had been printed, and that even adding an addenda sheet with the Vitter question also would require rewriting software code, reprogramming scanners and retraining census workers to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars."

So, since when did Team Obama worry about spending hundreds of millions of dollars?

They blew over a trillion dollars last year. Hundreds of millions is a drop in the bucket for these democrats.

Of course, this story will be buried by the state-run media.

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/10/...rkers-will.html

[The_Dude 1,142]

Although it would be nice to be able to get accurate data as to the illegal immigrant population in this country, I think including the provision asking people's immigration status would only distort the numbers. Pure and simple, if you are asking people's immigration status, you will not get truthful results. Either people will lie, or more likely, they will simply not answer the questions. There is no enforcement mechanism to punish those who don't answer, or those who lie, so the whole thing is moot.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Although it would be nice to be able to get accurate data as to the illegal immigrant population in this country, I think including the provision asking people's immigration status would only distort the numbers. Pure and simple, if you are asking people's immigration status, you will not get truthful results. Either people will lie, or more likely, they will simply not answer the questions. There is no enforcement mechanism to punish those who don't answer, or those who lie, so the whole thing is moot.

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.

The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.

I agree. The census is just supposed to be a headcount. With the passage of the 14th Amendment, there is no Constitutional reason even to differentiate whether a person is "free" or "slave".

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I do believe JAS would love to bring back "three fifths"

[The_Dude 1,142]

Although it would be nice to be able to get accurate data as to the illegal immigrant population in this country, I think including the provision asking people's immigration status would only distort the numbers. Pure and simple, if you are asking people's immigration status, you will not get truthful results. Either people will lie, or more likely, they will simply not answer the questions. There is no enforcement mechanism to punish those who don't answer, or those who lie, so the whole thing is moot.

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.

The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.

I agree. The census is just supposed to be a headcount. With the passage of the 14th Amendment, there is no Constitutional reason even to differentiate whether a person is "free" or "slave".

As a Libertarian, I am instinctively uneasy about the prospect of the government prying into my private life by expanding the census. I do however think, that if they carefully limited it to demographic information it would be a good idea.

[Ban Hammer 12,836]

I do believe JAS would love to bring back "three fifths"

i'd be happy with just a fifth!

[alienlovechild 75]

There is no enforcement mechanism to punish those who don't answer, or those who lie, so the whole thing is moot.

There are laws but how often are they enforced?

"The following section of the United States Code requires that people fill out their U.S. Census forms and provides a $100 penalty for not answering the Census and up to $500 for giving false information."

http://geography.about.com/library/misc/blusc13.htm

[Niels Bohr 72]

If it increase the House of Rep count, then, it also add more people onto the payroll. It's an incentive for government to kill people silently.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

And let's not forget the IRS either. They don't care if you're illegal as long as you pay your taxes and they don't share info with other government branches.

[The_Dude 1,142]

There is no enforcement mechanism to punish those who don't answer, or those who lie, so the whole thing is moot.

There are laws but how often are they enforced?

"The following section of the United States Code requires that people fill out their U.S. Census forms and provides a $100 penalty for not answering the Census and up to $500 for giving false information."

http://geography.about.com/library/misc/blusc13.htm

Like I said, there is no mechanism for enforcing it.

[scandal 951]

I do believe JAS would love to bring back "three fifths"

i'd be happy with just a fifth!

Bourbon or rye?