The Census Bureau is proposing major changes to how the 2030 Census would count noncitizens and collect racial and ethnic data, prompting the Legal Defense Fund to warn that the changes could diminish Black political representation, undermine enforcement of voting rights laws and affect the distribution of government resources.
The proposed Census Bureau rule, published Sept. 10, would establish new federal regulations governing who is considered a resident for congressional apportionment and restrict the demographic questions that may appear on the decennial census questionnaire. The proposal remains subject to public comment and is not currently in effect.
Under the proposal, U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents would be counted at their usual residence for congressional apportionment, while other foreign citizens would not be included in the apportionment count.
That would represent a significant departure from the approach used for the 2020 Census. Under the 2020 residence criteria, foreign citizens living in the United States were counted where they lived and slept most of the time, regardless of whether they were legally present, while foreign citizens merely visiting the country were excluded.
The Census Bureau said it has preliminarily determined that undocumented immigrants should not be included in the population used for congressional apportionment because the agency does not consider them to have sufficient ties or allegiance to the United States. The agency also proposes excluding foreign citizens whose immigration status is less permanent than lawful permanent residency.
The proposal would also prohibit questions about race, ethnicity or sexual orientation from appearing on the short-form decennial census questionnaire or other questionnaires used to enumerate the population. Questions about biological sex, date of birth and household relationships could continue to be included.
The Census Bureau said removing those demographic questions would reduce the burden on respondents and disclosure risks, potentially increasing response rates. The agency would remain able to obtain demographic information through administrative records and to ask demographic questions through the American Community Survey and other surveys that are not used for population enumeration.
The proposal comes despite previous Census Bureau research concluding that updated race and ethnicity questions would produce more accurate information about the racial and ethnic composition of the United States. The bureau has said the federal government’s revised race and ethnicity standards were developed through years of research, public engagement and expert review. (Census.gov)
The Legal Defense Fund, or LDF, condemned the proposed changes, arguing that eliminating race and ethnicity questions and excluding many noncitizens from the apportionment population could impede enforcement of civil rights laws and diminish political representation for Black communities.
LDF argued that accurate census data is essential not only for congressional and local representation but also for allocating government resources and enforcing federal civil rights protections.
The organization warned that eliminating demographic questions could reduce the quality of information available to states when congressional and other political boundaries are drawn following the census, including information used to evaluate compliance with the Voting Rights Act.
“These proposed changes run headlong into the Constitution — which clearly mandates the counting of ‘the whole number of persons in each State,’” LDF said. “The changes are not about ensuring an accurate count but rather originate from the administration’s fear of the truth and the facts: that our population is more diverse than ever and that discrimination in voting and other areas of American life is alive and well and leads to negative outcomes in the health and well-being of our communities.”
LDF continued, “These efforts stem from discriminatory and xenophobic rhetoric that this administration is intent on disseminating and its continued rejection of accountability by denying the real, lived experience of everyday Americans.”
The Census Bureau presents a sharply different rationale. It maintains that its proposal is intended to fulfill the constitutional requirement to determine the population for congressional apportionment while improving the accuracy of the population count, protecting privacy and reducing the burden on respondents.
LDF, however, characterized the proposal as an effort that would particularly damage the political power of Black voters and deprive communities of resources.
“We can call this proposed rule what it is: the next step in a plan to deny Black voters a voice in government and a place in America’s public life while denying communities critically needed resources,” LDF said. “We denounce this proposed rule and call on the Census Bureau to abandon this effort and ensure that the census continues to reflect our nation in all its diversity.”
The proposed regulations have not taken effect. The Census Bureau is soliciting public comments as part of the federal rulemaking process before deciding whether to adopt a final rule. The bureau describes proposed rulemaking as a process intended to solicit public comment and participation before regulations become final. (Census.gov)
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