Community Organizations Help U.S. Census Count Illegals In 2010

The director of the U.S. Census Bureau will team up with community organizations throughout the nation to assure that every illegal immigrant living in the country is counted in the 2010 census. 

After a La Raza group powwow to discuss efforts to ensure a full count of Latinos, Bureau Director Thomas Mesenbourg said he intends to maximize the count of illegal aliens by helping the undocumented come out and register for the census. In an interview with a national news service, Mesenbourg reminded that his job is to count everyone that resides in the U.S., whether they’re documented or undocumented. 

Influential La Raza groups such as the National Council of La Raza and the League of United Latin American Citizens have pushed hard for years to count every illegal immigrant in the official census. Under President Barack Obama, their effort will finally pay off. 

This may seem outrageous to those who live in the U.S. legally since the decennial census is used to appropriate voting power in congressional districts and to allocate government resources. Currently there are 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives that are divided among states in proportion to their population. States with bigger populations get more House seats. 

Under Obama’s plan states that harbor more illegal immigrants will undoubtedly gain more House seats, therefore giving that population the potential to actually change the balance of power in Congress. 

The effort to count illegal aliens in 2010 started a few years ago when the Census Bureau’s deputy director called for a cease in federal raids during the official population count. Illegal aliens are already distrustful of the U.S. government and calling off the enforcement operations would make them more likely to cooperate with data collectors, the deputy director pointed out. 

A California senator subsequently sneaked an amendment into a spending bill to block federal immigration enforcement until after the 2010 count. Democrat Barbara Boxer attached the measure because counting illegal aliens will surely give her state and party additional congressional seats. In fact, counting illegal immigrants will obviously give states with large illegal alien populations—such as California, Arizona, Texas and Florida—additional seats in the House after 2010.