In testimony before the U.S. Senate this week. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo confirmed the electoral consequences of illegal aliens streaming into the country to take advantage of President Joe Biden's open border. Specifically, the way that — even without the ability to vote in federal elections — illegal aliens are bolstering Democrat efforts to wield power in Congress and the White House.
The admission came in a line of questioning from Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) about the census — the decennial survey of the U.S. population conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce — and how the way it is currently conducted "encourages illegal immigration."
"Illegal aliens today are counted in the U.S. census, is that correct?" Hagerty asked Raimondo. "Yes, as required by the U.S. Constitution," the Commerce secretary replied.
"This total census population, which includes illegal aliens, is then in turn used for the allocation of congressional districts and electoral votes for each state — is that correct?" Hagerty continued. "Yes," was again Raimondo's reply.
That is, illegal aliens — generally drawn to sanctuary cities and sanctuary states (read: Democrat locales) — mean there is a surge of individuals running up the "population" numbers in blue areas which, due to the census, results in more congressional seats for blue states and in turn more votes in the electoral college. Democrats, unsurprisingly, like this reality that gives them an advantage. Especially after the 2020 census saw seats taken away from Democrat states such as California, New York, Illinois, and Michigan and given to red states including Texas, Florida, and Montana.
I’ve introduced legislation that would take away the incentive for the tidal wave of illegal immigration we’ve seen under Biden. It would ensure only citizens are counted in allocating congressional seats and the Electoral College, yet all Democrats blocked it. pic.twitter.com/5zx2aRGfna
— Senator Bill Hagerty (@SenatorHagerty) May 16, 2024
Hagerty asked Raimondo about recent comments from U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) calling for more illegal immigrants in her neck of the woods because, she said, "I need more people in my district just for redistricting purposes."
"Under the current rules, Secretary, Representative Clarke is right, isn't she?" Hagerty queried. "I'm not going to comment on politics," Raimondo deflected — an attempt to avoid confirming the reality currently playing out in which Biden's border crisis will bolster Democrats in electoral politics.
Pressed again, Raimondo attempted to hide Democrats' agenda saying "the Constitution requires us to count all persons and that's what we do."
Hagerty reminded the Commerce secretary that "the Constitutional also talks about one person, one vote" and emphasized the counting of illegal aliens to determine congressional representation "absolutely dilutes" the votes and voting power of legal citizens.
The counting of illegal aliens for reapportionment "actually incentivizes illegal immigration" and allows Democrats to "increase political power" through the mass importation of unlawfully present individuals.
Hagerty has introduced the "Equal Representation Act," a bill to tackle the Democrats' abuse of illegal immigration for political power that would eliminate the "perverse incentive" currently in place. "It would make certain that only citizens are counted for the purpose of allocating congressional districts and for the purpose of allocating electoral votes," Hagerty explained. "The bill just passed the House of Representatives last week," but Senate Democrats united to vote against and defeat the legislation earlier this spring. Still, Hagerty said he is "very hopeful that common sense will prevail and we can see a very different result" when the bill is brought back to the floor in the future.
Ask yourself: Why do Democrats want to count illegal aliens for allocating congressional seats and electoral votes? pic.twitter.com/hod5UKbhAM
— Senator Bill Hagerty (@SenatorHagerty) May 16, 2024
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