Texas Tea Party Sues Over Census Districts (counting illegal immigrants) [View All]

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/07/134342249/Texas-Tea-Party-Sues-Over-Census-Districts

In Texas, Tea Party activists are suing to change the way census figures are used to draw congressional districts. They say by including illegal immigrants in the count, the government is diluting the political power of citizens who live in districts without large illegal immigrant populations.

Three Tea Party activists have filed a lawsuit in federal court. It challenges the way census data is used to redraw congressional districts. After the latest census, Texas looks to pickup a number of congressional seats, especially around the state's southern border and near San Antonio.

But the plaintiffs in this suit want to make sure the numbers justifying those new seats do not include illegal immigrants. To do so, they argue, would discriminate against voters who live in districts with fewer illegal immigrants.

Since the founding of the country, the taking of the census has always been considered a signature job of the federal government. And since the founding, the mandate has been that every man, woman and child gets counted. Slaves were considered three-fifths of one person. Nevertheless, they too were included in the enumeration.

But a recently filed federal lawsuit in Texas wants to change this. It asserts, quote, "The inclusion of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. Census might have the purpose and effect of strengthening the Hispanic vote. If so, this practice could violate the United States Constitution, the Voting Rights Act and the Texas Constitution."

Mr. WILLIAM GHEEN (President, Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee): We feel that illegal immigrants being counted for congressional apportionment is theft of political influence and power from innocent American citizens.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NumbersUSA#cite_note-7

NumbersUSA is an immigration reduction organization whose intent is to reduce the United States' annual immigration to pre-1965 levels, without country of origin quotas as established in the Immigration Act of 1924.

In February of 2009, NumbersUSA was called a nativist organization by the Southern Poverty Law Center's report "The Nativist Lobby". http://www.splcenter.org/intel/nativist_lobby.jsp

ALIPAC is the political action committee of NumbersUSA.