The public has less than 30 days to comment on two major changes the Trump administration wants to make to the U.S. census.
The first proposed change would exclude immigrants without green cards from being counted. That would not only affect people who are undocumented, but also students, people with work permits, those with temporary protected status, and refugees and asylum seekers. The Trump administration argues they should not be counted because they are “not true inhabitants.”
“Literally, it’s saying here that the foreign-born immigrants, even if they have a visa here, they are working, even if they have children who are U.S. citizens, literally this would mean that they do not count,” said Ernesto Castañeda, director of the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies.
The changes would mean millions of people who were counted in the 2020 census would be left out in 2030. Census data, which is collected every 10 years with the goal of counting every resident in the country, is used to determine a state’s representation in the U.S. House, can impact how congressional lines are drawn and is used to decide how much federal funding communities get for things like roads, schools and hospitals.
“It would have a tremendous effect, not only in terms of representative government, but also in terms of resource allocation in the tune of hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars,” said James Carter, president of the National Bar Association.
The second proposed change would remove questions about race and ethnicity. The Trump administration argues the census should be colorblind.
Black Futures Lab, an advocacy organization, is conducting what it calls its “Black Census.” While it is unaffiliated with the U.S. census, the group’s executive director said collecting information on race is important.
“It helps outside groups, governmental or non-governmental, understand what’s happening with the population and where discrimination could be occurring,” said Kristin Powell, executive director of Black Futures Lab.
Powell also said the proposed changes would not be limited to communities with large Latino populations, noting that immigrants can be white, Black or Asian.
“It’s going to impact every community, not just Black and brown communities, but every community,” Powell said.
The proposed changes are likely to be challenged in court and would likely need congressional approval.
“The Constitution speaks to this in a way that it doesn’t matter whether or not a person is legally here, illegally here, has a green card, etc., Carter said. “It’s a process by which the census is supposed to count all persons in a particular state.”
The U.S. Census Bureau, which operates under the Commerce Department, did not respond to a request for comment on concerns raised in this story.
