In order to apportion Members of the House of Representatives among the States, the Constitution requires an “Enumeration” of the population every 10 years, to be made “in such Manner” as Congress “shall by Law direct.” Art. I, §2, cl. 3; Amdt. 14, §2. In the Census Act, Congress delegated to the Secretary of Commerce the task of conducting the decennial census “in such form and content as he may determine.” 13 U. S. C. §141(a). The Secretary is aided in that task by the Census Bureau, a statistical agency housed within the Department of Commerce. See §§2, 21.

The population count derived from the census is used not only to apportion representatives but also to allocate federal funds to the States and to draw electoral districts. Wisconsin v. City of New York, 517 U. S. 1, 5–6 (1996). The census additionally serves as a means of collecting demographic information, which “is used for such varied purposes as computing federal grant-in-aid benefits, drafting of legislation, urban and regional planning, business planning, and academic and social studies.” Baldrige v. Shapiro, 455 U. S. 345, 353–354, n. 9 (1982).

Why did New York, Maryland, California and Washington, D.C. sue to prevent the citizenship question from being on the census? In my opinion there are three significant reasons.

First, the larger the count of people in a state, the greater the federal funds a state will receive. States want to receive federal funding but don’t want to comply with associated federal dictates. States should realize that financial dependency on the federal government is a form of economic slavery.

Second, the larger the count of people in a state, the greater the representation in the House of Representatives. Why should illegal (and even legal) immigrants have a voice in our federal legislative body? Shouldn’t that be reserved for U.S. citizens?

Third, citizenship information could be utilized for political party gerrymandering. The Supreme Court has ruled that it has no authority regarding gerrymandering. That means it continues to be up to the state legislatures to determine district boundaries.

Fourth, Hispanic participation in the census will be reduced or less accurate. We are a country founded on compliance with the rule of law. The Census Act requires by law that all people living in the U.S. must complete the census accurately. States that don’t enforce the census should be penalized with reduced federal funding and representation.