OTHER OPINIONS Counting everybody

By Chicago Tribune

Posted: September 11, 2009 at 6:47 a.m.

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CHICAGO — Counting people may seem like one of the most innocuous activities the U.S. government can undertake. But each decennial census generates a great deal of political conflict, for the simple reason that as the population grows and shifts, political consequences follow.

After the 2010 census, U.S.

House districts will have to be redrawn, with some states adding representatives and others losing seats. :

But the growth of illegal immigration raises a relatively new concern - how all these noncitizens, who are included in the population tally, are affecting the distribution of power. States with a lot of undocumented foreigners stand to gain seats, while states without them face possible losses. Which raises the question: Should illegalsbe excluded from the census counts used for congressional reapportionment? :

As UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh notes, the 14th Amendment says seats shall be apportioned to states "according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed." If the framers had meant to limit the category to citizens, they would have used that term instead of persons, as they did elsewhere. :

The real issue here is how to write and enforce immigration laws that discourage people from coming illegally and working illegally. Absent a practical and broadly acceptable answer to that question, excluding illegal immigrants from the census would solve absolutely nothing.

Opinion, Pages 8 on 09/11/2009

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