Don't Deport Them, Count Them

Another great moment in our immigration policy:

Some lawmakers are calling anew for the U.S. to relax its immigration laws -- not to provide sanctuary to illegal immigrants, but to ensure statistical accuracy.

The calls come as the Census Bureau prepares to kick off the 2010 Census. Critics argue that unless the government is willing to relax immigration laws, millions of people -- afraid to their share their personal information -- will be left out of the count.

U.S. Rep. William Clay, D-Mo., who chairs a House oversight subcommittee on the Census, said he plans to ask the Obama administration to suspend immigration raids over the next year.

He wants the raids put on hold so illegal immigrants don't worry that sharing accurate information with Census workers could somehow expose them to punishment, even deportation.

Jeez. Why are we counting illegal aliens in the first place? Isn't the census supposed to be a count of Americans and those legally allowed to be here?

Do we count the tourists at Disneyland who are here from out of the country? No.

If people want to be counted, let them reside here legally.