On the 5th, the U.S. Senate conducted a procedural vote showing that the Republican amendment to include immigration status questions in next year's census was rejected by a vote of 60 to 39.
This amendment was proposed by Republican senators David Vitter from Louisiana and Robert Bennett from Utah, among others. They suggested excluding non-citizens from the U.S. population count in next year's census, as the total population of each state directly impacts the apportionment of congressional seats and also affects federal government allocations to states amounting to billions of dollars annually.
Robert Groves, the Director of the Census Bureau, explicitly opposed this proposal, stating that it would significantly delay the census process, incur enormous additional costs, and discourage a large number of immigrants from participating in the census. Census Bureau spokesperson Stephen Buckner reiterated on the 5th: “The 2010 Census is proceeding as planned, and we aim to ensure the accuracy of the census. The Republicans' suggestion is not only impractical but will also delay progress.”
After the proposal was rejected, Republican senators threatened the Census Bureau that they would not endorse the $600 million in special funding that the bureau is awaiting approval for unless immigration status questions were included.
Senator Vitter stated that excluding non-citizens from the population count would allow Louisiana and eight other states with lower immigrant populations to maintain or gain more congressional seats. These states include North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Michigan, Indiana, and Iowa. He complained that some congressional seats are currently occupied by states with high immigrant populations, such as California, Texas, New York, and Illinois, which he deemed unfair to U.S. citizens.
Immigrants in the United States have legitimate rights concerning their political status; excluding immigrants from the census count is illegal, and members of Congress cannot strip immigrants of rights they are entitled to.