State leaders should strive to retain Americans, not count on non-citizens to boost population

Editor:

A recent news story heralded the fact that New York was going to lead a multi-state effort to block a question about citizenship in the new census. As I read this story my first question was, how much is this costing the state, since any money spent by the state, in the end, is taxpayer money?

As I continued reading I came to the statement that read one of the primary reasons for a census is to ensure a “fair representation in Congress and the electoral college.” I certainly agree with that and since the constitution applies to citizens of this country (or at least it used to), I do not understand how this question could be so disagreeable to some.

When the state says they could lose a lot of money I realized that is the real concern. As citizens flock out of this tax-laden state and we continue to lose congressmen, the state evidently sees these non-citizens as a way out of the financial mess they’ve created. I do not see how this is possible, but I’m not as smart as those people in Albany that have gotten this state in this predicament.

I am not opposed to legal immigration. If you have ever witnessed a swearing-in ceremony, it is very moving. I am not opposed to migrants coming from other countries. They are necessary and, as long as they are legal, welcome. I just feel the state is grasping at straws and trying to point fingers elsewhere when they need to look in the mirror and in the end this is going to cost the taxpayers of New York.

Ken Longer

Kendall