2024 House Resolution 227

Whereas, The House of Representatives recognizes that there are many challenges and complexities involved in the taking of the census and the apportionment process, including demographic shifts, changes in population distribution, and evolving societal dynamics. One of these challenges is the issue of illegal immigration. A large illegal immigrant population has the potential to substantially impact apportionment, if illegal immigrants are included in the census and the apportionment base; and

Whereas, On July 21, 2020, President Donald Trump issued a memorandum declaring that it would be the policy of the United States to exclude illegal aliens from the apportionment base following the 2020 Census. The President directed the Secretary of Commerce to provide him with information permitting him to carry out this policy as part of his report on the results of the census; and

Whereas, On President Joe Biden’s first day in office, he signed an executive order to reverse that policy and ensure that illegal immigrants would continue to be included in the apportionment base. The President declared that all persons residing in a state would be counted towards that state’s population for purposes of apportionment, regardless of their immigration status; and

Whereas, There are considerable numbers of illegal immigrants in the United States, and they are not evenly distributed throughout the country. According to a Pew Research Center study, in 2016, 61 percent of illegal immigrants lived in just 20 major metropolitan areas, with the largest concentrations in Los Angeles and New York City. Pew estimates that, as of 2021, there were 10.5 million illegal immigrants in the country, with 67.4 percent of those living in only ten states: California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Georgia, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and Washington. There are particularly large portions of the illegal immigrant population in California (17.6 percent), Texas (15.2 percent), Florida (8.6 percent), and New York (5.7 percent). Estimates of the total number of illegal immigrants living in the United States over the last several years range from around 11 million to as high as 22 million, or the equivalent of nearly 14 to 29 congressional districts; and

Whereas, Factoring illegal immigrants into the apportionment base for the United States House of Representatives distorts political representation. Because large percentages of the illegal immigrant population live in a small number of metropolitan areas, those areas are awarded a disproportionate share of congressional seats after the apportionment and redistricting process compared to the representation they would receive if we excluded those who do not have a legal right to be in this country. Areas that cater to illegal immigrants could attract particularly high concentrations of these individuals, skewing political influence towards these areas even further when illegal immigrants are included in the apportionment base; and

Whereas, It is imperative that the federal government maintains the integrity and fairness of the apportionment process by excluding illegal immigrants from the determination of congressional representation. Apportionment must remain free from partisan manipulation or undue influence to ensure that our government continues to represent the people of the United States. We support efforts aimed at safeguarding the integrity of the apportionment process and preventing any form of gerrymandering or partisan manipulation that undermines the democratic values it seeks to uphold; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge Congress to pass legislation requiring the exclusion of illegal immigrants when apportioning seats in the United States House of Representatives; and be it further

Resolved, That this resolution shall serve as a clear and unequivocal statement of our belief that the federal government must preserve the integrity of the apportionment process and uphold the foundational principles of representative democracy in the United States; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.