Constitution. The 14th amendment to the Constitution states that "representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers. counting the whole number of persons in each state ..... The Supreme Court has ruled that undocumented aliens are "persons" under the due process and equal protection clauses. and the history of the 14th amendment clearly Indicates that all individuals who reside In the United States are "persons" within the meaning of the Constitution. In a letter to Senator BINGAMAN. dated September 22. 1989. Assistant Attorney General Crawford stated: In the past. the Department of Justice has taken the position that section two of the Fourteenth Amendment which provides for "counting the whole number of persons in each State" and the original Apportionment and Census Clauses of Article I. Section 2 of the Constitution require that inhabitants of States who are illegal aliens be included in the census count. In our review of this Issue to date. we have found no basis for reversIng this position. Undocumented aliens are people. every person counts and should be counted. The census should not be confused with the right to vote. While this right belongs only to citizens of the United States. all individuals have voices that must be heard. To deny these people representationpeople who often embody the most powerless elements of our societyis to deny them justice. I believe that the practical effect of this amendment would be to drive many illegal aliens underground. It would exacerbate undercounting in minority and ethnic communitiesa situation which the 1990 census was designed to avoid. It would raise the specter of census enumerators acting as Immigration agents and cause unnecessary turmoil in our communities. Mr. Speaker. the RidgeGoodling amendment Is both unconstitutional and unworkable.
Keywords matched
undocumented Immigration Undocumented illegal aliens