Could Iowa Lose a House Seat?
Storm Lake (Iowa) Pilot Tribune, January 12, 2009
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Fifth District fellow Republican Congressman Steve King says he’s heard a number of analysts boldly predict that Iowa would lose a seat and he says others have said they’re not certain. “I want to see the numbers before I draw a conclusion,” he says.
King expressed a concern about not everyone included in the census is a U.S. Citizen. King says the census does not count just “U.S. Citizens,” but persons in the United States including non-citizens and illegal aliens. King says he supports an amendment, introduced in 2007, that reads “Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the number of persons in each State who are citizens of the United States.” King said if the amendment passes it may mean loss of seats for states like Florida, Texas and California and says hopefully other states like Iowa would gain a seat or keep all current seats intact. King says every single U.S. Citizen needs to be counted in the census and said that only U.S. Citizens should be represented in Congress.
According to the Center for Immigration Studies, “Remaking the Political Landscape–The Impact of Illegal and Legal Immigration on Congressional Apportionment,” a study was done after the 2000 census to measure illegal immigration’s impact. {snip}
The report found that illegal immigration has an impact on how seats are redistributed in the house. The study found that with the presence of illegal aliens in other states meant a loss of one house seat in Indiana, Michigan and Mississippi in 2000. {snip}
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