Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy on Wednesday pressed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on what he said were facts about illegal immigration’s electoral impact.
The Census Bureau includes illegal immigrants in its count, and congressional seats are based on the data from the census, according to the bureau’s website. Kennedy asked Mayorkas questions on this topic, but the DHS secretary found fault with the “phrasing” and appeared to lose his temper with the senator.
WATCH:
“Isn’t it a fact, Mr. Secretary, that the number of illegal immigrants that you and the president allow into our country counts for congressional district reapportionment?” Kennedy asked.
“Senator, I’m not sure I understand your question, but I can surely share with you that I disagree with its phrasing,” Mayorkas responded.
Kennedy repeated his question again.
“Same answer,” Mayorkas said after stammering. “I don’t understand your question. The notion, senator, that we intend to allow illegal immigration is nothing short of preposterous. It is disrespectful to the extraordinarily hard work that we perform and far more importantly that the personnel in the Department of Homeland Security and across this administration perform to stem illegal immigration, build lawful, safe and orderly pathways and invest in a working system.”
Republican senators in January introduced legislation to count illegal immigrants differently in the census to mitigate their alleged electoral impact. The Census Bureau states that “all people (citizens and noncitizens) with a usual residence in the United States are included in the resident population for the census.”
“It’s a fact and you know it and I know it that the more people you allow into our country illegally, the more people are counted for reapportionment,” Kennedy said. “And the more people you allow into our country illegally, the more people are counted for allocating electoral votes. Now maybe that’s a coincidence, but that’s fact. And you know that. And you’ve done nothing for four years. Nada. Zero.”
Mayorkas said Kennedy’s statement was “absolutely false.”
“In fact, the only people I know in this country who are better off today than they were four years ago are illegal immigrants,” the senator said. “And that’s a result of your policy. I don’t hate you for it. I don’t hate anyone, but that’s why you’ve been impeached.”
Immigration is the top concern among Americans due to a record amount of illegal border crossings, a February Gallup poll found. Border Patrol documented over 753,000 illegal immigrant encounters at the southern border in fiscal year 2024 as of February, according to federal data.
