Vitter pushes for citizenship question on census
by Deborah Barfield Berry - Shreveport Times (excerpt)

WASHINGTON — With the census less than six months away and immigration reform stalled, U.S. Sen. David Vitter proposes requiring that the once-a-decade survey include a question about a person's citizenship.

"Illegal immigration is a very real and significant concern for our country," the Louisiana Republican says in a statement. "In the past, some states have included illegal immigrants during the census, resulting in the allocation of additional congressional seats. We shouldn't let these states be rewarded for skirting our federal laws."

Vitter has proposed an amendment to the Commerce, Justice and Science spending bill that would ban the use of federal funds if the census does not include questions about citizenship or a person's legal status. The 2010 census form, which has only 10 questions, does not ask that. The Senate is scheduled to continue debating the bill Tuesday.