Norlega. is clear and should be supported. But lets be honest in this debate. We are not here to debate United States policy toward Panama. but whether or not the census should count undocumented aliens. The arguments heard have made the issues very clear: The Shelby amendment which Mr. RIDGE proposes to adopt. is flatly unconstitutional. If that is not a convincing argument alone. add to it that the proposal is totally unworkable and is Inappropriate for inclusion in an appropriation bill. Still. many Members are swayed by the patriotic appeals that have been forwarded. The idea that we should exclude undocumented persons from the census for purposes of apportionment is a deceptively appealing argument. After all. why should noncitizens be counted when we are determining the number of representatives for each State? Appealing. this is. until you start to think about the ramifications of the proposalthe real constitutional question and discrimination questions it raiseshow you would actually make such a provision work. The constitutional arguments have already been discussed and addressed.
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undocumented noncitizens