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.