One of President Joe Biden’s first official acts could come with historic costs to the state of Alabama.
Biden has announced that in his first hours as president on Wednesday afternoon, he will decree that illegal aliens be included in the count used from the 2020 Census in determining how U.S. House districts are apportioned among the states. This reverses the policy of former President Donald Trump, who only wanted citizens included for apportionment purposes.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (R-AL) and Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-05) have led legal efforts for more than three years to prevent illegal aliens from being counted towards congressional apportionment. Their case is still pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
The two Republicans have explained that since Alabama has a relatively low number of illegal aliens, the state would be disproportionally hurt by their inclusion while blue states such as California would benefit at Alabama’s expense.
An estimate released in recent weeks had Alabama holding onto its seventh congressional seat by a razor-thin margin — only approximately 6,000 people — after the 2020 Census. However, it could be months until the official numbers are released by the Census Bureau. And now, Biden’s policy reversal could tip the balance to Alabama’s detriment.
In addition to losing a congressional district equating to losing representation in the House of Representatives, another consequence for Alabama would be losing a vote in the Electoral College. Moreover, billions of dollars in federal funding are on the line as a result of the Census count.
“The Census determines political representation for the body politic — ’the People.’ Illegal aliens stand outside the body politic, having neither affirmed allegiance to our country nor been recognized by it as lawfully residing here. Thus, including them in the apportionment dilutes the representation afforded to citizens and lawfully-present aliens who do form ‘the People,’” Marshall has stated.
“Any apportionment that includes illegal aliens thus violates the Constitution’s process for apportionment and promise of equal representation,” Marshall concluded.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
