Census counting all -- citizens or not

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The 2010 census will count the undocumented.

Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, advanced a plan to prevent the Census Bureau from counting noncitizens.

The Senate’s Democrats blocked that in a 60-39 vote today.

The census not only is the basis for apportioning congressional districts for the coming decade, but also becomes a guide for the distribution of billions of dollars in federal aid.

Critics complained that Vitter’s plan would discourage immigrants from participating in the census, with law long recognizing that congressional districts are drawn by population. The Constitution calls for a census based on the ‘whole number of persons’ residing in a state.

See the report on the 2010 census in the Swamp.

-- Mark Silva