ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Only in Washington would it be a scandal for the government to ask a person who wants to be represented in Congress if they are an actual U.S. citizen.

That there are elected public officials out there publicly denouncing the Census Bureau for wanting to ask the simple question reveals just how utterly unserious political leadership in America has become today.

The census is a ritual required by the Constitution every 10 years to determine exactly how many congressional districts get apportioned to each state. This is to ensure equal representation in Congress. No small thing.

Over the years, the Census Bureau has asked all sorts of questions.

Do you have running water? Do you use a toilet? Bath or shower? Working telephone? What is your monthly mortgage? What color is your skin?

These are all fun questions. But none of them has anything to do with whether the people in the residence should be counted for the purpose of determining equal representation in Congress.

“Are you a citizen?” That most certainly does.

We could have a debate about whether legal residents who are not citizens — but in the country legally — should be represented in Congress.

But how dare any politician dilute the rights of legal American citizens by granting the exact same rights and representation in Congress to illegal aliens.

These are the same devious politicians who proclaim most loudly to want to protect and guarantee equal representation in Congress for minority citizens such as black Americans. Yet they eagerly diminish that representation by lumping in illegal aliens.

Illegal aliens are people who by definition are in the U.S. against the law. Of course, many of these people might have the potential to offer much good to this country. But flouting the law and breaking to the front of the line to get into this country is not a very good start.

Beyond that, aliens living illegally in the U.S. are also afforded rights and liberties not granted to American citizens.

For starters, they are being permitted to break the law without being punished for it. Is there any other similarly protected class in America today? How is that “Equal Justice Under Law?”

Also, despite the dishonest spin from ridiculous leftist politicians, identity theft is not a “victimless” crime. When an illegal alien steals a legal American citizen’s identity so that they can take a job (away from an American or legal resident), the person whose identity is stolen is almost always hurt in the process.

There are even states, such as California, that offer in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens living in the state. How on earth is that fair to every American student paying full freight from out of state?

The answer is that these people do not care about fairness. They do not care about “Equal Justice Under Law.”

Aside from their unshakable romance with lawlessness, these ridiculous leftist politicians see illegals as future indentured voters. And they want them to be counted just as American citizens to increase their own representation in Congress.

In the end, if you cannot ask a person living in this country if they are a citizen, then what does it even mean any more to be an American citizen?

• Contact Charles Hurt at [email protected]; @charleshurt

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