The upcoming census will not be the first time illegal immigrants have been included. But with the increased rate of illegal immigration in the last decade, it presents a problem for the state of Louisiana, which has suffered a slight decrease in population because of Hurricane Katrina.The census, to be conducted in 2010, will cause the apportionment of the seats of Congress to favor states with populations that have grown rapidly due to illegal immigration. Other states, such as Louisiana, may lose seats.People in the U.S. illegally — who do not pay taxes and will never be allowed to vote — should not increase a state’s representation in Congress. States such as California and Texas have a disproportionate level of power due to this inclusion of illegal immigrants in the census.The Census Bureau’s short form sent out to every resident in each state does not inquire of the person’s citizenship. This type of demographic information is collected in the American Community Survey. “Notably, the Census Bureau does not officially state any intention to use ACS data in conjunction with the 2010 enumeration,” said political analyst Elliott Stonecipher.This is despite the fact it was implemented in the ’90s under the “apparent belief . . . in the field that sampling techniques would produce a far more accurate ‘census’ than the constitutionally mandated enumeration,” Stonecipher said.”According to the latest American Community Survey . . . California would have 57 members in the newly reapportioned U.S. House of Representatives.  However, with noncitizens not included for purposes of reapportionment, California would have 48 House seats,” estimate Stonecipher and LSU law professor John Baker in their Aug. 10 article for the Wall Street Journal. This is based on projections of the number of illegal immigrants in California’s decade-end total population relative to the national population.This should be of great concern to all citizens, as it undermines the constitutional basis for determining a state’s relative power. In effect, this decreases the value of our vote relative to the vote of a citizen in states such as California and Texas, and therefore our ability to protect Louisiana’s concerns in Congress is diminished.The 14th Amendment states: “Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election . . . is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged . . . the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.” Since 1940, there are no longer any Indians which can be considered “not taxed,” according to the U.S. Census Bureau. However, the question remains — Why would an “Indian not taxed” be excluded from the representational base, but a person in violation of immigration laws included?Why is a state’s representational base decreased when a U.S. citizen, of age to vote, is denied the right to vote, but at the same time an illegal immigrant who is ineligible to vote increases the same state’s basis of representation? Since the census is also used to determine the allocation of federal funds, the ACS data should be used in combination with the short form, in order to ensure that those included in the enumeration are legal residents. This will still allow states to receive funding for programs needed for a population which includes illegal immigrants, while Louisiana’s voice will not be unfairly diminished.Nathan Shull is a 35-year-old finance junior from Seattle. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_nshull.– – – -Contact Nathan Shull at [email protected]