My bill would require that this be done. Some do not find the constitutional language as clear as I do. Just a few weeks ago. an amendment was offered to an appropriations bill then pending on the Senate floor that would have prohibited "illegal aliens" from being counted for purposes of congressional apportionment. A similar amendment passed the House of Representatives on I judged that this amendment was unconstitutional. and telephoned the Attorney General to get his view. He advised me that the Justice Department interpreted the 14th amendment as I did. and has successfully defended the Census Bureau in a lawsuit seeking to bar the counting of "illegal aliens" on the same basis. I raised a constitutional point of order against the pending amendment. Although I subsequently withdrew it. and substituted the narrower point of ordersustained by a vote of the Senatethat the amendment constituted substantive legislation on an appropriations measure. the constitutional issue remained. and I was prepared to press it had this proven necessary.
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illegal aliens