Senator Ricketts’ Weekly Column: Fair Elections Are at Risk If We Don’t Stop Counting Illegal Aliens in the Census

May 17, 2024

In the last year, President Biden has allowed 1.2 million illegal aliens into our country through parole. For comparison, the Obama and Trump administrations paroled 5,600 people on average per year. The current administration’s refusal to secure our southern border has far-reaching consequences. It’s killing our young people by allowing fentanyl to pour into our communities. It’s risking our national security as border encounters with known terrorists soar. It’s also going to have major ramifications on our elections.

Right now, illegal immigrants are counted in the Census. That data is used to decide how many congressional districts and Electoral College votes a state gets. The Electoral College is how we elect the president. The number of congressional seats can impact which Party controls the House of Representatives. The data is also used for the formula that determines where federal dollars get spent across the country.

By counting illegal immigrants in the Census, we’re rewarding cities and states that break our immigration laws. States like Nebraska that follow our immigration laws are punished. We would have less representation in Congress, less of a say in who is elected president, and less federal funding. Democrats know this. In fact, they openly admit they are rigging the system. Earlier this year, a video surfaced of Rep. Yvette Clarke, a Democrat from New York, blatantly calling for more illegal immigration to her district. She said she needed more people for “redistricting purposes.”

The Census policy must change. Only U.S. citizens can vote in federal elections. So it is only right to count citizens in deciding how these Congressional seats, Electoral College votes, and federal funds get divided. To do that, I introduced the Equal Representation Act. It would restore common sense.

I co-led the bill with Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee. It would require the Census Bureau to include a citizenship question on any future census. It would also require them to tell the American people how many citizens there actually are. Our bill would also prohibit non-citizens from being counted for the purposes of congressional district and Electoral College apportionment.

Ensuring that congressional representation is based on citizenship shouldn’t be a partisan issue. It’s a matter of fairness and respecting the law. Our bill recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives. But in the Senate, every Democrat voted to block it. Every Senate Democrat voted to protect an unfair system because it benefits their party. Every Senate Democrat voted to punish states like Nebraska that follow the law. That’s disgraceful. I’m going to keep fighting. Republicans need to have enough votes in the Senate to make this a reality.

Without these changes, the number of illegal immigrants flowing across our border will have a major impact on the next Census. The data will then determine the next decade of congressional seats and Electoral College votes. The border crisis has made it clear that fair elections are at risk. We must stop counting illegal aliens in the Census.

My team and I are here to serve you. Contact us anytime by phone at 202-224-4224. You can also view my website at www.ricketts.senate.gov/contact.