Open borders: Democratic strategy towards the single party?

Fear of widespread legalization of undocumented immigrants is intensifying as Republican legislators maneuver in both chambers for the Census to count only citizens for determining the number of seats allocated to each state.

In the midst of the explosion of the border crisis, Elon Musk gave voice to one of the great fears of many voters about the true objectives of Democratic leaders with immigration management. The tycoon warned of the danger that the Blue Party seeks to increase its power, and even turn the US into a "single party" country through massive legalizations of the more than 10 million people who entered the country illegally since the arrival of Joe Biden to the White House. This is by no means something new or exclusive to the owner of X, and, in fact, the Republican representative Warren Davidson and several conservative senators introduced bills in both chambers to make sure the Census only counts US citizens facing the corresponding number of congressmen to each of the states according to their population.

After "a permanent majority"

Musk began his presentation last Friday, with a post on X accompanied by a 2021 AP news story that warned that the current president "will to prioritize legal status for millions of immigrants." According to the tycoon, this statement hides a "very simple strategy : 1. Get as many illegals in the country as possible. 2. Legalize them to create a permanent majority: a one-party state. That's why they are encouraging so much illegal immigration. Simple, yet effective." Something that critics, such as GOP House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, say is behind the bipartisan bill introduced by several senators last Sunday. Musk himself insisted that this initiative is a measure to "enabling illegals to vote."

Illegal immigrants, key in the Democratic strategy

Between both publications, Musk explained - on Friday - that the key to these movements is that "the census is based on a simple headcount of people (including illegal), not just citizens. This shifts political power and money to states and congressional districts with the highest number of illegals." Each state has a number of representatives according to the population it has at the time of the census, which is updated every 10 years. At this time, California (53), Texas (36), and Florida and New York (both with 27), are the ones with the largest number of congressmen.

"Only American citizens are represented in Congress"

This situation had already been denounced on multiple occasions and, on January 4, Republican Congressman Warren Davidson once again called on X to reactivate joint resolution HJ 37. In his post, the representative from Ohio insists that "Congressional districts should be drawn based on the population of US citizens only. The Census must specifically count US citizens for apportionment of representation. Only US citizens are represented by the Congress."

"Wrong and un-American" movements

Shortly after, on January 24, Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty introduced a bill (the Equal Representation Act) along these lines. In a press release, Hagerty denounced the Democrats' movements to maintain power despite the exodus that blue states are experiencing in favor of territories governed by Republicans:

It is unconscionable that illegal immigrants and non-citizens are counted toward congressional district apportionment and our electoral map. While people continue to flee Democrat-run cities, desperate Democrats are back-filling the mass exodus with illegal immigrants so that they do not lose their seats in Congress or their electoral votes for the presidency, hence artificially boosting their political power and in turn diluting the power of other Americans’ votes. I’m pleased to introduce this legislation that would require a citizenship question on the census and will ensure that only citizens are counted in congressional redistricting.

The law's co-author, Senator Masha Blackburn, pressed these arguments, denouncing these moves "as wrong and un-American." According to Blackburn, Democrats "continue to justify their open border policies" because "they just need a higher head count to help them acquire more seats in Congress and more dollars from the federal government."