There is a great deal of worry in California that the state could be "under-counted" in the next census if officials go ahead with a proposal to ask people on the Census if they are U.S. citizens.  The theory is that if illegal aliens see the question, they will run away into the night, screaming with terror, and not be counted for purposes of the Census.  If illegals are under-counted, then places where they live – like California – will be deemed to have a smaller population and be allocated fewer congressmen (or congresswomen or congressthems or congress-its) in Congress.

Fear is rising among Democrats over the prospect that President Donald Trump's hard line on immigration might ultimately cost California a seat in Congress during the upcoming round of reapportionment.

I love when they call enforcing the law a "hard line."  Don't you?

Top Democrats here are increasingly worried the administration's restrictive policies – and the potential inclusion of a question about citizenship on the next U.S. census – could scare whole swaths of California's large immigrant population away from participating in the decennial count, resulting in an under[-]count that could cost the state billions of dollars in federal funding over the next decade and, perhaps, the loss of one of its 53 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Have you ever seen a "swath" of immigrants?  "Swath" must be the most overused and misused word by journalists.

And if "swath" is the most overused word, the second most overused word is "immigrants."  Do you think immigrants will be scared by the Census...or merely illegal aliens?

The fears are well[] founded: [a]ccording to the population formula used by Congress to distribute House seats every 10 years, California is currently on the bubble in 2020, on the verge of losing a seat for the first time in its history.

"The citizenship question is just the latest red flag – maybe one of the biggest – but just the latest red flag," [Calif. secretary of state Alex] Padilla said.

A red flag?  Is that a racist slur against Chinese people?  What is Padilla trying to say, that China is some kind of s-hole?

"If millions of non-citizens refuse to participate in the [U.S.] Census, the Democrats will take [a] massive political beating," Tony Quinn, a political analyst and former Republican legislative aide, wrote in the Fox & Hounds political blog last week.  "That's because electoral districts must be drawn based on population.  The non-citizen population resides in heavily Democratic areas; if they are not counted, those areas will not have sufficient population to support Democratic congressional and legislative districts, especially in the big cities."

Would you like to see Democrats take a beating?  Or how about just a political beating?

I see what is worrying Democrats.  Census workers are typically poorly trained temporary employees who go door to door.  I can easily see why they could inadvertently scare illegal aliens into not answering questions.

That's why I think Democrats' concerns would be allayed if the taking of the Census were turned over to a more professional organization, like the Immigrations and Custom Service.  ICE is experienced at dealing with members of the public, especially in the "immigrant" community.  I think when immigrants see people wearing ICE jackets knocking on their front doors, they will realize that these are professional law enforcement officials, and they have nothing to be concerned about.

Participation in the Census will skyrocket if ICE takes over.  In fact, I suspect that massive cooperation with the Census could even cause California to gain a congressional seat.

Questions for discussion:

1) What do you think would happen if ICE went door to door conducting the Census in "immigrant communities"?

2) Why is it that we always have a discussion about the fears of under-counting "immigrants" and no discussion of whether immigrants (and illegals) should be counted for purposes of determining congressional districts at all?  After all, we don't count tourists in the United States for the purposes of determining congressional districts; what entitles other non-citizens to have greater representational rights than tourists, Alpacas, or fire hydrants?

Ed Straker is the senior writer at Newsmachete.com.