http://www.cleveland.com

Ohio House says immigrants shouldn't count
Citizen census is urged to determine seats in Congress
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Reginald Fields
Plain Dealer Bureau
Columbus- The Ohio House on Tuesday decisively said illegal immigrants and noncitizens should not be counted in the U.S. census when congressional seats are being determined.

Over sharp objections from a few lawmakers who raised discrimination arguments, the House voted 71 to 24 for a resolution that backs a proposal in Washington to change the U.S. Constitution's 14th amendment.

The resolution has upset Ohio's Latino and immigrant communities.

But without the change, Ohioans have a diminished voice in Washington, said State Rep. Kevin DeWine, a suburban Dayton Republican, who sponsored the House resolution.

While not allowed to vote, illegal immigrants and noncitizens are included in the census used to determine how many seats each state will have in the U.S. House.

Michigan Republican Rep. Candice Miller introduced a constitutional amendment last year that would change the 14th amendment to allow only "citizens" to be counted instead of "persons." DeWine's resolution would make Ohio the first state to support Miller's proposal.

The system now benefits California, Texas and Florida, which have high numbers of illegal immigrants and noncitizens.

Miller's proposal needs a two-thirds vote of Congress and to be ratified by 38 states - both longshot scenarios.

But DeWine figures it's worth a shot. If 2010 census projections hold true, Ohio would lose two congressional seats.

Fighting for those two seats, however, appears to come at the risk of alienating groups of people - especially those who are here legally but have not yet achieved citizenship.

"They are not even considering people who are already residents, who have jobs, and pay taxes and have green cards and have been here a long time," said Pastor Jesus Laboy, president of the Coalition of Latino Ministers of Ohio.

"The message they are sending is that noncitizens and members of the Latino community do not count, and that is really sad," said Veronica Dahlberg, of HOLA, the Hispanic Organizations of Lake and Ashtabula.

"The census is one of the most important tools used by historians to document growth and change," Dahlberg said. "And I don't like it that they would try to leave us out of the history books."

State Rep. Peter Ujvagi, a Toledo Democrat, whose family emigrated from Hungary in 1957 when he was 8, said he was saddened by the resolution, which he said smacks against American values.

Ujvagi wondered why illegal immigrants and legal, green-carded noncitizens were lumped together in the resolution.

DeWine said a compelling argument could be made for separating the groups, but pushing Miller's proposal is Ohio's way of calling for a national debate on the topic and the need for U.S. immigration reform.

The resolution now heads to the Ohio Senate.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

rfields@plaind.com, 1-800-228-8272