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Noncitizens are hurting Michigan, Miller says
Her bill says they skew representation
BY RUBY L. BAILEY
FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF

December 14, 2005

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Candice Miller will tell anyone who will listen that Michigan is getting cheated because immigrant noncitizens are counted to determine how many members of Congress represent each state.

GOP leaders just wish she wouldn't say it so loudly.

Today, in an effort to appease Republicans who are angry about what they call President George W. Bush's lax immigration policy, the U.S. House will vote on a bill to toughen rules for detainment and expulsion of illegal immigrants. It would also increase the number of border patrol agents.

But Miller wants more.

She has collected 29 cosponsors for a bill to amend the Constitution so the number of U.S. citizens, instead of all people, would be used to determine the number of House members each state has after every census.

She says Michigan and eight other states lost one member of Congress after the 2000 census, while California picked up six seats, largely because noncitizens were included.

Michigan has been losing House seats for decades. In the 1970s, the state had 18 representatives. Today, it has 15.

Republican leaders have urged caution in dealing with illegal immigration, mindful of a possible backlash among Hispanics in elections next year.

The battle over immigration could be risky for Miller, who quickly rose in the GOP House hierarchy after she was elected in 2002. Last year, she chaired Bush's presidential campaign in Michigan. Many Republicans wanted her to run next year against either Sen. Debbie Stabenow or Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

"I don't mind losing a seat because American citizens have moved somewhere," said Miller, whose district includes the northern two-thirds of Macomb County and much of the Thumb. "But to lose a congressional seat because of illegal immigrants is outrageous."

Trying to court the Hispanic vote in the 2006 elections and beyond, Bush has played to the middle -- calling for more border patrols while encouraging a guest-worker program that detractors say could bring millions of low-wage workers into the United States.

That policy angered some Republicans, including Colorado Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo, chairman of the House Immigration Reform Caucus and a potential 2006 presidential candidate. Tancredo has demanded tougher laws.

Miller's cosponsors in the Michigan delegation are Republicans Dave Camp of Midland, Vernon Ehlers of Grand Rapids, Peter Hoekstra of Holland, Mike Rogers of Brighton, Joe Schwarz of Addison and Fred Upton of St. Joseph.

Still, Miller has a near-impossible task. Amending the Constitution takes a two-thirds majority of both houses of Congress and the approval of 38 states.

Republican Rep. Joe Knollenberg of Bloomfield Township, who didn't cosponsor the bill, said that it should be debated.

Miller plans to see that it is.

"I plan to press it," Miller said of her amendment. "It's the ultimate slap in the face that illegal immigrants have the same rights as a United States citizen."

The Bush administration has not taken a position on Miller's bill, a spokesman said.

Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman urged Republicans earlier this month to avoid anti-immigrant sentiments in the debate over tighter border security. There are roughly 11 million illegal aliens in the country, experts estimate.

"This is an issue that deeply divides the Republican Party," said Dan Griswold, director of the center for trade policy studies at CATO Institute.

Griswold, who supports Bush's immigration policy, called Miller's amendment "risky and unworkable."

Democrats say Miller's amendment discriminates against illegal immigrants.

She responds: "I believe in legal immigration. But to break the laws to come here and then get the same representation as the legal citizens, there's no other country where that is happening."

Contact RUBY L. BAILEY at 202-906-8203.