Mr. President. the issue that is the subject of this amendment has been debated on the floor already this year. All Senators are aware of the prevailing arguments: The Senate by a vote of 58 to 41 voted in favor of an amendment that I offered to Senate bill 358. the legal immigration bill. The. prior Senatepassed amendment would direct the Secretary of Commerce to make such adJustments fin total population figures as may be necessary and feasible using such methods and procedures as the Secretary determines appropriate in order that aliens in the United States In violation of the immigration laws not be counted in tabulating population for purposes of reapportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives. Mr. President. the. Senate has already. gone on record that illegal aliens shall not be part of the tabulation of total population figures for purposes of apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives. This posi. tion has withstood a point of order thatit was unconstitutional by a vote of 56 to 43 right here in this Chamber.. A majority of the Senate. therefore. has affirmed that it is constitutionally proper to exclude from census figures for purposes of reapportionment. or apportioment of the undocumented aliens there. For over 10 years. the Congress has attempted to get a vote on this issue. Earlier this. year. .this was the only vote we were able to get. and the Senate voted overwhelminglyin favor of that.
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undocumented immigration illegal aliens