| Bennett wants census to ask citizenship status |
| Immigration count » Bill would turn workers into legal-residency checkers |
| by Thomas Burr The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake Tribune |
| Updated:09/17/ |
Washington » Sen. Bob Bennett, facing a tough re-election against challengers who say he isn't conservative enough, introduced legislation on Thursday that would require the Census Bureau to ask individuals their citizenship status next year.
Bennett's bill, co-sponsored by three Republican colleagues, said the census is setting up for an accurate count, but that it won't be right unless it finds out how many people are in the country illegally.
The once-a-decade count is used to divvy up congressional seats and figure out federal funding for local communities.
"It does not make any sense for congressional seats and the Electoral College to be determined by a process that unfairly provides the advantage to those communities with high illegal populations,
By requiring a citizenship question on the form, he said, the census will show how many legal citizens there are.
But Bennett's bill goes against a campaign the Census Bureau launched to try to ensure that everyone living in the United States is counted. And Utah Gov. Gary Herbert recently held a news conference to stress the importance of counting every person.
Politics aside, it's unclear whether it's too late to make the change since the census announced in July it was starting to print the forms used to conduct the count.
Even so, Tony Yapias, a community activist and director of Proyecto Latino de Utah, said Bennett's legislation sends precisely the wrong signal .
"I guess he has to pander to the right wing base, that's what it appears to me," Yapias said. But such pandering, he added, could cost Utah millions in federal dollars if it deterred residents from participating in the census.
"That would shortchange Utah millions of dollars from education to roads -- from all sorts of federal monies we get," he said.
Businesswoman Cherilyn Eagar, a Republican who is challenging Bennett, said that given Bennett's dismal immigration record -- she calls it pro-amnesty -- she's surprised by his move but supports it.
"I just have to applaud the senator for taking an 11th hour step in the right direction," Eagar said. But, she also questioned Bennett's intentions since it might be too late to effect any change.
The Census Bureau did not respond to a request for comment Thursday. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who is also vying against Bennett, said he is reserving comment until he sees a copy of the legislation.
Http://reddemocratica.blogspot.com
Boletin Diario :
Http://reddemocratica01.blogspot.com
Foro Debate :
Http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eleccion
Ahora en FACEBOOK : Red Democratica
Http://www.caretas.com.pe/2000/1631/articulos/protesta.phtml
Http://www.caretas.com.pe/2000/1612/articulos/debate.phtml
Celebrando 10 anos "On Line"..2009
Keep the candle burning
I have a dream
http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/about_king/interactiveFrame.htm
FORUM TPSIPOL: RED DEMOCRATICA (1998-1999).
Informacion : Http://tpsipol.home-page.org
Para enviar un message , enviar a: eleccion@yahoogroups.com
Para suscribirse al Forum , enviar un mensaje a : eleccion-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Para salir del Forum, enviar un mensaje en blanco : eleccion-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
No comments:
Post a Comment