Lafayette chamber wants state to sue Census

The Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce is asking state Attorney General Buddy Caldwell to consider suing the U.S. Census Bureau. At issue is the Census Bureau’s plan to count everyone in the country, regardless of whether they’re here illegally. This would boost the populations of states like California and Texas, with high numbers of undocumented workers and other non-citizens, while states like Louisiana lose out. The chamber insists Lafayette stands to lose representation in Washington, as well as in the state legislature, and millions of dollars in federal and state funds. “The chamber is most concerned with what we understand is the census bureau’s refusal to ask whether those being counted are in fact citizens of the United States,” Chamber President/CEO Rob Guidry says. “Such measures would skew the numbers and result in an unconstitutional increase in the number of representatives in some states and deprive some other states, like Louisiana, of their rightful political representation.” The letter urges Caldwell to “do whatever is necessary to ensure that the count is accurate,” and to “sue the United State Census Bureau on behalf of the state of Louisiana, if necessary.”