Speech #970021424

Speaker. reapportionment of congressional seats following each decennial census significantly affects the makeup of the House of Representatives for a full decade. Population figures based on data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau are distorted by the inclusion of illegal aliens. Those States and districts within States having significant numbers of illegal aliens will be rewarded with unfair representation in the House. their population figures padded with an ineligible and nonvoting constituency. The principle of "one man. one vote" will be violated. as the voting constituencies of these districts will be overrepresented in Congress. Elected representatives from these districts will not be held accountable to illegal aliens on election day. Moreover. there will be an incentive for them to maintain weak immigration laws and enforcement procedures that distort their influence in Congress and in their States. The private interests of their voting constituencies may further exacerbate the social and economic problems of nonvoting. undocumented workers and their families. The 1980 census found perhaps 5.000.000 persons in the United States "in other than lawful status." although the Census Bureau claims to have counted no more than half. Preliminary Library of Congress figures indicate that an inclusion in the apportionment base of 4.5 illegal immigrants could have shifted congressional seats in seven States. Some time ago. in hearings on the question of whether aliens should be included in census apportionment figures. the House Judiciary Committee concluded that the exclusion of aliens would require a constitutional amendment. I have introduced House Joint Resolution 233 for an amendment to the Constitution providing that the apportionment of representatives in Congress shall be based on the number of persons legally residing in each State. This amendment will by no means prohibit the counting of illegal aliens for the purpose of Federal grant formulas based on population. it addresses only the reapportionment issue. The identity of illegal aliens would be protected by the confidential status of information collected by the Census Bureau. I would be happy to hear from any of my colleagues in the House of Representatives who wish to sponsor this resolution with me.