WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) in introducing the Equal Representation Act, legislation that excludes illegal immigrants from being factored into the count for Congressional districts and the Electoral College map that determines presidential elections. The current method of counting illegal immigrants for purposes of representation serves as a perverse incentive for open borders to boost the relative political power of the states and voters that support it.
“Illegal aliens have no right to congressional representation in this country,” said Senator Tuberville. “They shouldn’t even be here. Yet right now, tens of millions of illegal aliens are here and affecting the balance of power in Congress. This is a slap in the face to EVERY American citizen, whether Republican, Democrat, or Independent. I support the Equal Representation Act so that all AMERICANS get fair and equal representation in Congress.”
Cosponsors of the bill include Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mike Braun (R-IN), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Steve Daines (R-MT), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), John Thune (R-SD), and J.D. Vance (R-OH).
Full text of the legislation can be found here.
BACKGROUND:
Illegal immigrants are counted for congressional district apportionment and, therefore, Electoral College votes. For example, in a state like California, millions of illegal alien residents result in California taking several more congressional seats and Electoral College votes than the states’ population of citizens would justify. In other words, being a magnet for illegal immigration increases the power of a Californian’s vote relative to an individual in another state with less population boost from illegal immigration. This creates a perverse incentive encouraging illegal immigration and resettlement to increase political power.
The legislation comes after video revealed a Democrat Congresswoman openly calling for more illegal immigration to her New York congressional district because she “needs more people in her district for redistricting purposes.”
Securing the Border
Senator Tuberville supports common-sense policies that strengthen our border and national security like building the wall and reinstating the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the Remain in Mexico policy. Senator Tuberville has spoken about his concerns on the floor of the U.S. Senate and called on the Biden Administration to act.
During his three years in the United States Senate, Senator Tuberville has made multiple visits to the southern border and worked on many legislative initiatives to secure the border, including giving law enforcement the tools needed to keep our communities safe and reforming immigration law to crack down on abuse and discourage illegal immigration.
In December 2023, Coach and House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost (R-IL) introduced legislation to stop Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) resources from being used to provide taxpayer-funded healthcare to illegal aliens. Reports indicate the Department of Homeland Security is leveraging the VA’s established claims processing system to facilitate healthcare services to illegal aliens in ICE detention.
In December 2023, Coach Tuberville introduced the Border Safety and Security Act as an amendment to the SUPPORT Act, legislation to address the opioid crisis. During the markup, Coach Tuberville explained that Congress cannot begin to address the opioid crisis until the southern border is secure. Coach Tuberville originally introduced the Border and Security Act in March 2023 as part of his continued push to protect Americans by combatting the border crisis created by President Biden’s immigration policies.
In December 2023, Coach Tuberville called on the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to overhaul its harmful and deficient policies regarding the treatment of unaccompanied alien children in the United States.
In November 2023 , Coach cosponsored the Southern Border Transparency Act. The legislation would force the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to increase its reporting of data about illegal immigrants entering the country, in turn providing greater transparency to the American people.
In September 2023, Senator Tuberville helped introduce the Secure the Border Act of 2023, the Senate companion passed by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year, commonly known as H.R. 2.
In August 2023, Coach called on the Department of Defense to halt the sale of border wall construction materials after reports that the Department was moving quickly to dispose of the parts before the provisions of Wicker’s FINISH It Act could be implemented.
In July 2023, Coach introduced a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to strike down President Biden’s Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule, which funnels illegal immigrants into unlawful parole programs that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has established without Congress’ consent. This funneling effect has allowed, and encouraged, more people with weak or non-existent asylum claims to enter the U.S.
In May 2023, following the expiration of Title 42, Coach reintroduced The Empowering Law Enforcement Act, which would grant state and local law enforcement inherent immigration enforcement authority to investigate, identify, apprehend, arrest, detain, or transfer an illegal immigrant who has entered the U.S. Additionally, this legislation would provide the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary flexibility on how long a criminal alien may be detained, extending the 180-day period to ensure violent criminals are not released back into communities.
In March 2023, Senator Tuberville cosponsored the Stopping Border Surges Act to address loopholes in our immigration system that encourage vulnerable immigrant populations to take dangerous, illegal paths of entry into the United States. The legislation includes reforms that would reduce unsustainable surges of illegal immigrants, strengthen our asylum process, eliminate the incentive to send children to the border; and dampen the exploitative power of coyotes and cartels.
In 2021, Senator Tuberville introduced his first piece of legislation as U.S. Senator, which required DHS to issue notices to appear to every single person paroled or released into the U.S., after media reported on the border becoming so overrun that Customs and Border Protection officers were forced to quickly release illegal immigrants into U.S. communities with no follow up for a date in immigration court.
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees.
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