Utah gets census ally

If noncitizens were left out, the impact on infrastructure planning would be "pretty enormous," compared to a "marginal" change in the balance of power, said Pam Perlich, senior research economist at the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research.

If the 2000 Census had included only citizens, some 110,486 people in Utah — or 5 about percent of state's population — wouldn't have been counted. Those noncitizens use roads, hospitals and schools, Perlich said.

"Within the census itself, there is a count of citizens. If that's what people want, it's already there," Perlich said. "There are a whole lot of people that we just won't know anything about them. . . . It greatly reduces the value of the census data."

Utah Department of Transportation spokesman Nile Easton said population is part of the equation for planning and funding in transportation.

Easton said the proposed amendment could equate to a reallocation of funding from counties with high immigrant populations to areas with fewer immigrants.

Miller said the border states have no real incentive to stem illegal immigration when those immigrants bolster the state's political clout by resulting in more seats in Congress.

"Illegal aliens should not have the same representation" in Congress, Miller said during a recent radio appearance. "Our citizens should not be disadvantaged."

The Congressional Research Service also found that counting illegal residents in the census means that congressional districts with high populations of illegal immigrants, who can't cast ballots, are electing representatives with only a fraction of the total votes tallied in those districts comprised predominantly of American citizens.

For example, 224,098 votes were cast in the 2002 race for Utah's 2nd Congressional District won by Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson.

But in the race for California's 31st District, which has a high population of illegal residents, only 67,243 votes were cast, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Miller said it is conceivable that a Californian could be elected to Congress with only about 35,000 votes, where it would take about 109,000 votes to get elected in her Michigan district — and about 112,000 in Utah's 2nd District.

"This is about fundamental fairness and the American ideal of one man, one vote," she said.

Given that Florida, New York and California control roughly one-third of the House, Miller's HJR53 would require almost unanimous support from the other state delegations — a difficult task.

Two-thirds of the House and the Senate must approve a constitutional amendment before it goes to the states for ratification. And three-fourths of the states must approve.

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