Mr. Speaker. it has come to my attention that a "Dear Colleague" letter is circulating in the House this week which addresses the question of counting undocumented persons in the decennial census. The letter informs Members that certain States are likely to lose congressional seats following the next reapportionment if illegal aliens are included in the 1990 census counts. As chairman of the Subcommittee on Census and Population. I feel obligated to let my colleagues know that these reapportionment projections are misleading and inaccurate. Population projections for 1990 are too tentative to permit accurate determinations on reapportionment at this time. Furthermore. many factors other than the number of undocumented persons. such as the substantial undercount of minorities. the homeless. and the rural poor. affect apportionment of congressional seats among the States. It simply is irresponsible to take another swipe at undocumented persons in the United States by causing a panic on an issue as sensitive as reapportionment. I urge my colleagues to carefully review the real facts on this issue before responding to the "Dear Colleague" letter.
Keywords matched
undocumented illegal aliens