In an effort to address the use of illegal immigration as a tool to influence congressional district apportionment and Electoral College votes, U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined his colleagues in introducing the Equal Representation Act. Specifically, this bill would address the inclusion of illegal immigrants in the count for congressional district apportionment and Electoral College votes; highlight the potential for disproportionate political power; and require the Census Bureau to publicly report certain demographic data, ensuring transparency and informed decision-making.
Recent public comments from U.S. Representative Yvette Clarke (D-NY) highlighted the necessity of the Equal Representation Act when she advocated for more illegal migrants saying, “I need more people in my district just for redistricting purposes.”
Under President Biden’s administration, illegal immigration has surged, raising concerns about congressional and Electoral College apportionment. According to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) report for Fiscal Year 2023, the non-detained docket climbed by 30.3% from 4.7 million noncitizens in FY 2022 to more than 6.2 million noncitizens in FY 2023. In contrast, the non-detained count was at 3.26 million in FY 2020 and 3.6 million in FY 2021. Currently, the Census counts illegal immigrants, in addition to citizens of the United States, and the number of congressional districts per each state are determined using Census numbers.
“The Biden administration’s refusal to secure the southern border and then just allow unfettered entry into the United States by illegal immigrants has far-reaching impacts, far beyond just the things we think of on the surface,” said Cramer. “The Census is the foundation for representation in our political system, and any census that could include non-citizens in the apportionment count is really concerning to me, and it ought to be to all North Dakotans. Illegal immigrants and non-citizens cannot vote and should not be used as pawns as the Democrats in redistrict in various states. Our Census has to count both Americans and non-Americans but should also distinguish between them.”
Additionally, this legislation would require the Census Bureau to include a citizenship question on future censuses, enhancing our understanding of the U.S. population and distinguishing between citizens and non-citizens for apportionment purposes and prohibit the counting of non-citizens for congressional and Electoral College apportionment. This guarantees only U.S. citizens influence representation.
The legislation was led by U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN). Additional cosponsors include U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mike Braun (R-IN), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Steve Daines (R-MT), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), John Thune (R-SD), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and J.D. Vance (R-OH).
Click here for bill text.
