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Do noncitizens cheat Ohio?
Local congressmen sign on for amendment to change Census
BY MALIA RULON | ENQUIRER WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON - A growing number of Ohio lawmakers are questioning whether illegal immigrants - and other noncitizens - should be included in the census count that's used to determine congressional representation.

Right now, the U.S. Census counts every person every decade, meaning that noncitizens - including those who have entered the country illegally - are routinely counted along with U.S. citizens. Among other things, those numbers are used to determine how many members of Congress each state gets - and how many votes each state has in the Electoral College, which chooses the president.

"It's as if in some states, the ballot box gets stuffed and nobody has discovered it yet," said Rep. Mike Turner, a Republican who represents the Dayton area and northern Warren County and chairs the House Government Affairs' subcommittee on federalism and the census.

He's pushing a bill in Congress from fellow Republican Rep. Candice Miller of Michigan that would amend the U.S. Constitution so that only U.S. citizens are counted for the purpose of determining representation in Congress.

His proposal has drawn skepticism from census officials, who say it would mean a less accurate count; and from some Latino leaders, who say every person - despite citizenship - deserves congressional representation.

"Immigrants, both documented and undocumented, are a sector of society that should not be ignored," said Nina Perales, a lawyer for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Critics of the measure also stress that today's census is used to collect a wide variety of data.

Statistics gleaned from the data help the federal government to distribute funds for programs such as Medicaid, and to select locations for schools, roads and other public facilities, such as hospitals or veterans centers.

The information also is used by real-estate agents and potential residents to learn about a neighborhood and to identify trends that can help predict future needs.

Alfonso Cornejo, president of the Hispanic Chamber Cincinnati USA, said he's concerned that Turner's change would turn the census into a political tool.

"I don't want to take sides, but this is a ridiculous argument," Cornejo said. "If California is getting more representatives, that's not right, but that's not the issue. If you are going to exclude them from the counting process, that is a political decision, not a census decision."

Rep. Steve Chabot, a Westwood Republican who is chairman of the House Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution, said he agrees that only citizens should be used to determine congressional representation. So much so, in fact, that he's planning to hold his own hearing on the issue.

"I agree with the concept, definitely," Chabot said, adding that he's likely to sign on as a co-sponsor to Miller's bill.

Rep. Jean Schmidt, a Miami Township Republican, said that while amending the Constitution is a serious step, the concept of apportioning congressional representation based only on U.S. citizens "seems reasonable." She said she wants to hear more details of the proposal from Chabot's hearing.

Butler County, home of new House Majority Leader John Boehner, has been a hotbed of anti-immigrant efforts. The sheriff has billed the federal government $125,020 since last fall to cover costs to jail illegal immigrants charged with crimes - the federal government says it doesn't pay for such costs - and the county auditor has asked all business owners to sign a pledge not to hire illegal immigrants.

But Boehner, a West Chester Republican, has not signed onto Miller's bill. He said through a spokesman that it's his goal to work toward consensus on the issue while building broad support for it among members of Congress.

AN EXTRA HOUSE SEAT

According to Turner, if only U.S. citizens had been counted in the last census, done in 2000, then California would have six fewer seats in the House; Texas, New York and Florida would have one fewer each. Nine states, including Kentucky and Indiana, would each have one more.

Looking ahead to the 2010 census, Ohio is projected to lose two House seats. If only citizens are counted, however, the state would lose only one.

That would, in turn, affect the makeup of the Electoral College. While the outcome of the presidential races since 1980 would not have changed, the margins of victory would have.

President Bush, for example, would have received four additional Electoral College votes in both 2000 and 2004.

"This is about 'one man, one vote' and each individual citizen in this country having equal weight to elect our president and members of Congress," Turner said.

Ohio House Speaker John Husted agreed. The Kettering Republican plans to hold a hearing on the issue Tuesday in Columbus. He's hoping that Ohio will be the first to pass a resolution calling on Congress to change the system.

"If it matters to Ohio, it should matter to millions in our nation," Husted said.

But changing the system is not as easy as it sounds.

It likely would require a constitutional amendment, which needs the approval of two-thirds of each the House and Senate, and at least 38 states. The last such amendment, which prohibits midterm pay raises for members of Congress, was approved in 1992 after being first introduced two centuries before. Nowadays, however, most amendments must be approved in seven years or they fail.

CENSUS DIFFICULT ALREADY

There also are practical concerns about whether it's realistic to ask people on a census form whether they are a U.S. citizen, said Clark Bensen of Polidata, a Virginia company that analyzes political data.

Bensen pointed out during a hearing in Washington in December that "confusion, hesitation or fear about answering the question" could result in the question left empty or the entire census form being thrown out.

"Counting every inhabitant is difficult enough without adding any extra burdens," he said.

Even Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon, who can't officially take a position on the proposal, has his doubts.

"The founders of our country asked that all inhabitants be counted," he said. "To deviate from that is a very significant change."

The census bureau tries to count every person, illegal immigrant or not - if need be, by sending a census taker to a household that did not return a census form. Requiring everyone to state on the census form whether they are a citizen or not, and following up on missed questions or unanswered forms, could make gathering the numbers even harder, he said.

"If you can see a person, you can count them. If you have to determine something about their artificial characteristics, such as citizenship, which is not inherent in a person, then it makes the job more difficult and it begins to open a slippery slope, perhaps, for other kinds of changes," he said.

Kincannon's predecessor, Kenneth Prewitt, spoke out against the plan at the December hearing, saying that counting just citizens would "lead to a less complete and less accurate census."

The Immigration and Naturalization Service, now a part of the Homeland Security Department, estimated in 2003 that more than 7 million of the noncitizens counted in the 2000 census were illegal immigrants. While experts estimate that the number of illegal immigrants has risen to about 11 million, they note that many of these never make it into the official census count to begin with.

According to the U.S. Census, the percentage of noncitizens has risen dramatically from 3.1 percent in 1980 to 6.6 percent in 2000 - or 18.5 million of 281.4 million people counted nationwide.

E-mail mrulon@gns.gannett.com
Related Stories
Poll: Who should be counted?


How many here
Number and percent of noncitizens in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, by county. Noncitizens can include illegal immigrants and legal residents with green cards:

Hamilton 16,328 1.9%
Butler 4,773 1.4%
Clermont 1,316 0.7%
Warren 1,928 1.2%
Campbell 716 0.8%
Kenton 1,260 0.8%
Boone 1,804 2.1%



By the numbers
According to the 2000 Census, 18.5 million of 281.4 million people in the country, or 6.6 percent, are noncitizens. Today's average congressional district has about 650,000 people, so that means there are enough noncitizens included in the census to fill more than 28 congressional seats.

The government estimates that more than 7 million illegal immigrants were counted in the 2000 Census. That's enough people to account for nearly 11 of those congressional seats.

There are 8,322 noncitizens living in Cincinnati out of about 170,000 noncitizens in all of Ohio, according to the census. They make up 2.5 percent of the city's population and 1.5 percent of the statewide population. For comparison, about 1 million noncitizens live in Los Angeles, out of 5.4 million in all of California, which make up 27 percent of the city's population and 16 percent of the state's population.


On the Web
U.S. Census Bureau: www.census.gov

House Subcommittee on Federalism and the Census: http://reform.house.gov/FC

Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund: www.maldef.org

Hispanic Chamber Cincinnati USA: www.hispanic chambercincinnati.com

Polidata Political Data Analysis: www.polidata.org

A report from the Center for Immigration Studies on the impact of legal and illegal immigration on congressional apportionment: www.cis.org/articles/2003/back1403.html


If you go
What: The Ohio House Rules and Reference Committee will hold a hearing on a resolution calling for Congress to amend the U.S. Constitution so that only U.S. citizens are counted in the census for the purpose of congressional apportionment.

Witnesses appearing at the hearing include U.S. Reps. Mike Turner, a Republican from Centerville who is chairman of the House subcommittee on federalism and the census; Candice Miller, R-Mich., who sponsored the congressional resolution to amend the Constitution; and Pat Tiberi, a Republican from Genoa Township near Columbus who is a co-sponsor of Miller's plan.

When: 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Where: Room 121 at the Statehouse in Columbus.

For more information: Call Ohio state Rep. Kevin DeWine's office at (614) 644-6020.

Directions and maps: http://www.statehouse.state.oh.us/


Text of proposed amendment
H.J. RES. 53: ''Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by counting the number of persons in each State who are citizens of the United States.''

Text of Ohio House resolution: "To memorialize the United States Congress to encourage the members of the 109th Congress to support House Joint Resolution 53, which proposes to amend the Constitution of the United Staes by apportioning the members of the Congress based on the number of persons in each state who are citizens of the United States.


What chance does this plan have?
Since Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., introduced her bill (H.J. Res. 53) last June, it has garnered 30 co-sponsors in the 435-person House, including many from the states that stand to gain if only U.S. citizens were counted. It's unclear, however, if this change to the census can be made through legislation or whether it needs to be enacted by an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

According to the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, "Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed."

Legal scholars contend that this language requires everybody to be counted and not just U.S. citizens, meaning that the Constitution must be amended if the census is to be altered.

A constitutional amendment requires the approval of two-thirds of each the House and Senate, and three-fourths of state legislatures, or 38 states, making it a much more arduous task than passing a bill.

On top of that, the proposal faces a disadvantage in Congress because the states that stand to lose the most from this change - California, Texas, Florida and New York - are also the ones with the largest number of votes in the House.

Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, said he's focused right now on raising awareness to this issue in order to build support.

"We're in the education phase," he said. "As more people find out this is what occurs, more people are on board to make the change."




Number and percent of noncitizens in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, by county. Noncitizens can include illegal immigrants and legal residents with green cards:

Hamilton 16,328 1.9%
Butler 4,773 1.4%
Clermont 1,316 0.7%
Warren 1,928 1.2%
Campbell 716 0.8%
Kenton 1,260 0.8%
Boone 1,804 2.1%



By the numbers
According to the 2000 Census, 18.5 million of 281.4 million people in the country, or 6.6 percent, are noncitizens. Today's average congressional district has about 650,000 people, so that means there are enough noncitizens included in the census to fill more than 28 congressional seats.

The government estimates that more than 7 million illegal immigrants were counted in the 2000 Census. That's enough people to account for nearly 11 of those congressional seats.

There are 8,322 noncitizens living in Cincinnati out of about 170,000 noncitizens in all of Ohio, according to the census. They make up 2.5 percent of the city's population and 1.5 percent of the statewide population. For comparison, about 1 million noncitizens live in Los Angeles, out of 5.4 million in all of California, which make up 27 percent of the city's population and 16 percent of the state's population.


On the Web
U.S. Census Bureau: www.census.gov

House Subcommittee on Federalism and the Census: http://reform.house.gov/FC

Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund: www.maldef.org

Hispanic Chamber Cincinnati USA: www.hispanic chambercincinnati.com

Polidata Political Data Analysis: www.polidata.org

A report from the Center for Immigration Studies on the impact of legal and illegal immigration on congressional apportionment: www.cis.org/articles/2003/back1403.html


If you go
What: The Ohio House Rules and Reference Committee will hold a hearing on a resolution calling for Congress to amend the U.S. Constitution so that only U.S. citizens are counted in the census for the purpose of congressional apportionment.

Witnesses appearing at the hearing include U.S. Reps. Mike Turner, a Republican from Centerville who is chairman of the House subcommittee on federalism and the census; Candice Miller, R-Mich., who sponsored the congressional resolution to amend the Constitution; and Pat Tiberi, a Republican from Genoa Township near Columbus who is a co-sponsor of Miller's plan.

When: 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Where: Room 121 at the Statehouse in Columbus.

For more information: Call Ohio state Rep. Kevin DeWine's office at (614) 644-6020.

Directions and maps: http://www.statehouse.state.oh.us/


Text of proposed amendment
H.J. RES. 53: ''Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by counting the number of persons in each State who are citizens of the United States.''

Text of Ohio House resolution: "To memorialize the United States Congress to encourage the members of the 109th Congress to support House Joint Resolution 53, which proposes to amend the Constitution of the United Staes by apportioning the members of the Congress based on the number of persons in each state who are citizens of the United States.


What chance does this plan have?
Since Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., introduced her bill (H.J. Res. 53) last June, it has garnered 30 co-sponsors in the 435-person House, including many from the states that stand to gain if only U.S. citizens were counted. It's unclear, however, if this change to the census can be made through legislation or whether it needs to be enacted by an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

According to the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, "Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed."

Legal scholars contend that this language requires everybody to be counted and not just U.S. citizens, meaning that the Constitution must be amended if the census is to be altered.

A constitutional amendment requires the approval of two-thirds of each the House and Senate, and three-fourths of state legislatures, or 38 states, making it a much more arduous task than passing a bill.

On top of that, the proposal faces a disadvantage in Congress because the states that stand to lose the most from this change - California, Texas, Florida and New York - are also the ones with the largest number of votes in the House.

Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, said he's focused right now on raising awareness to this issue in order to build support.

"We're in the education phase," he said. "As more people find out this is what occurs, more people are on board to make the change."