Congressman McClintock Questions Census Accuracy and Citizenship Interpretation

Interpretation of the 14th Amendment

• 📜 Congressman McClintock questions the Democratic interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which he believes confers automatic citizenship.
• ⚖️ He highlights that the amendment states "all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens," not simply "all persons born... are citizens."
• ❓ The courts have interpreted "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" broadly, but there is no direct Supreme Court decision on whether it applies to children of individuals illegally present in the U.S.

Census Methodology and Accuracy

• 👥 McClintock argues that a census should count real people with identifying information, not statistical models or guesses.
• 📊 He expresses concern over statistical errors that allegedly shifted apportionment of congressional seats, questioning how this can happen if actual people are being counted.
• ⚠️ The use of a post enumeration survey, described as modeling and statistical guessing, is a point of contention.
• 🏠 While the census is voluntary for information disclosure, the law requires Americans to answer, and the census endeavors to gather information for the remaining third of the country.

Challenges in Census Taking

• 🎯 The census faces challenges in reaching hard-to-count populations such as the homeless or highly mobile individuals.
• 🚫 However, McClintock asserts that if people cannot be found, they should not be invented or made up in the census.

Data Integrity and Constitutional Concerns

• 🔒 Concerns are raised about the accuracy of census data, particularly the statistical modeling used when direct counting is not possible.
• 📈 The process of deconstructing and reconstructing person characteristics in aggregate is described as a "complete mess" with potential constitutional problems impacting redistricting.
• 🕵️‍♂️ There is a lack of transparency, as the data is top-secret, preventing verification of its accuracy, which is a significant problem.