Border bill failed, but Western NC Republican pushes census-based immigration rules

Like the border legislation that Republicans once sought, then scuttled, recent immigration bills proposed by Western North Carolina's congressman will probably fail − but Rep. Chuck Edwards likely knows that and has another purpose, according to a local political expert.

As of Jan 30, Edwards had introduced three bills calling for the separate counting of undocumented immigrants by the census. Two of the bills said that information should be used to exclude those immigrants from the tally done every 10 years to determine how many U.S. House members each state gets.

"Only American citizens can vote, and only American citizens should be counted when determining federal representation,” said Edwards, who represents the 11th District that comprises more than a dozen of N.C.'s westernmost counties, including Buncombe County.

Western Carolina University political science professor Chris Cooper said the trio of Edwards' proposals "leans into" the election theme of immigration and what Republicans term a crisis at the border.

The census citizenship question is controversial, with critics saying it would cause an undercount of those living in the country because of fears of deportation or other repercussions. Former President Donald Trump attempted to add the citizenship question but was rebuffed by a divided Supreme Court.

In introducing the latest bill on Jan. 30, called the Voter Population Accuracy Act, Edwards said counting undocumented immigrants was "Incentivizing illegal immigration" and "exploiting our democracy."

But along with the court, Democratic lawmakers have opposed such a change. Fifty senators and House members signed a Jan. 24 letter to legislative leaders decrying the citizenship question.

"Adding a question about citizenship to the census would only create fear and reduce response rates in immigrant communities," Democratic Rep. Grace Meng of New York said in a statemen released along with the letter. No N.C. Democrats signed on to the letter.

The Citizen Times reached out to multiple immigrant advocacy groups for comment, including True Ridge and El Centro in Edwards' home county of Henderson, but they did not respond.

In tandem with the bills, Republicans had sought stricter immigration rules for the southern border and more enforcement, threatening to withhold aid for Ukraine. The aid was a key focus of President Joe Biden and he shifted on immigration, backing a bi-partisan border bill in order to fund Ukraine. Such a deal appeared set to succeed until former President Donald Trump told fellow Republicans to scuttle it to avoid giving a political win to his almost certain general election opponent.

Edwards is facing a challenge from the right in the March 5 primary by Clay County mortgage broker Christian Reagan.

Cooper, the political science professor, said with the narrowly divided Congress and Biden as president they are unlikely to become law, he said.

"But that shouldn’t imply that they’re not important. Bills − even those unlikely to become law − are important signals to voters about where their member of Congress stands on the issues. Bill introductions bring news coverage, which brings attention − not just to the member who sponsored them, but also to the importance of the issue in general," Cooper said.

The bills

• Voter Population Accuracy Act (introduced Nov. 9) would put the citizenship question in the census.

• No Representation Without Legal Immigration Act (introduced Nov. 30) would not count undocumented immigrants when congressional seats are divvied up among the states.

• The Equal Representation Act (introduced Jan. 30) would do the same things as the two other bills and, in addition, it would require public reporting of the number of undocumented immigrants no later than 120 days after the census.

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Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Border bill failed, but Edwards wants census immigrant rules for House