Since the founding of the United States, debate has raged among the political class over control of the Capitol. During the Constitutional Convention 237 years ago, the most heated debate revolved around the distribution of seats in the House of Representatives to the states.
Pro-slavery state representatives demanded that slaves be counted in the census to increase state representation. Abolitionists countered this, demanding that only citizens be included in the count, and arguing for addressing the issue of slavery rather than using it as a tool to manipulate power.
As millions of people move from California and New York to Texas, Florida, Tennessee and Idaho, their electoral power will change.
Today, Congress is once again grappling with Census participation, and in the midst of the largest influx of illegal immigrants in our nation’s history, certain members of Congress are exploiting the group for their own benefit.
why? The census is important because it determines the distribution of 435 members of Congress among states. As a state’s population increases, the number of seats in the House of Peoples also increases.
The House apportionment raises concerns that blue states have recently experienced large numbers of immigrants into America’s red bastion of freedom. As millions of people move from California and New York to Texas, Florida, Tennessee, and Idaho, their electoral power changes.
But as the nation moves toward redder climates, the influx of immigrants to blue sanctuary cities presents an opportunity for states struggling with population decline to make up for their numerical losses. This advantage may explain Democrats’ lack of meaningful border security efforts.
In response, Republicans have pushed for a census that would only count U.S. citizens as part of a state’s population. Many Americans became aware of this issue in 2019, when President Trump tried to include a citizenship question in the 2020 census.
Although the Supreme Court barred the Trump administration’s Commerce Department from adding questions through the bureaucratic process, Congress has always had the power to require such questions by law.
Understanding this and rejecting a “total power grab” by Democrats, Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) recently sought to legislate civil rights issues through an amendment to Democrats’ new spending bill. I tried. The amendment was intended to exclude non-citizens from the census count, but it failed to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Progressives and immigration groups hailed the amendment’s defeat as a victory for immigrant rights and voices. But the vote reflected the heated debate over slavery in the Continental Congress in 1787, in which the forerunners of the modern Democratic Party argued for counting slaves in the population and for the welfare of humanity. It reveals the priority of power.
obvious danger awaits From environmental threats to risks posed by human traffickers, people cross the U.S. border illegally. Despite Democrats touting themselves as immigration heroes, their refusal to address the consequences of open borders shows their actual priorities.
Democrats, like their slave-owning ancestors, count as many people as possible within state borders and show little concern for their welfare. Their concern is not with the voices of immigrants, but with the numbers they add to the population.
If Hagerty and Republicans really want to solve the border crisis, they need to compromise. maybe It’s necessary. But when negotiating, it’s helpful to remember our founders, who always kept the other party’s true goals in mind.
