Haaland, Democratic Leaders Condemn Trump Plan to Stop In-Person Census Counting Early

Press Release

Yesterday, the Census Bureau officially announced it will stop in-person interviews on September 30th, a month before the October 31st end date that had been set earlier this year. The leaders of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) -- collectively known as the Tri-Caucus -- along with Congressional Native American Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Deb Haaland issued the following statements on the new, abbreviated schedule, which was first reported on Friday.

"Many New Mexico communities rely on in-person enumeration to fill out the Census, yet, the Trump Administration is working to shorten the enumeration period which flies in the face of Director Dillingham's promise to me that he understood the importance of meeting our needs. Our communities are tired of falling behind and not getting the funding that we need and deserve for our futures. The Trump Administration is clearly determined to keep us, and our futures, behind," said Congresswoman Deb Haaland (NM-01).

"In-person outreach is vital to an accurate Census, especially for immigrants and communities of color. And so it is absolutely unacceptable that the Trump administration would intentionally undermine this constitutionally mandated counting by needlessly ending it a month earlier than they had initially announced, even as many communities are facing an undercount," said CAPAC Chair Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27). "An accurate census is needed not only for the disbursement of over $1 trillion in federal aid, it also determines Congressional representation. But communities of color have historically been undercounted, meaning they have less of a voice and less access to federal investments in their communities. Unfortunately, the 2020 Census is currently on track for an undercount of all communities of color unless additional steps are taken to raise response rates. That is why we have exerted so much pressure on the Census Bureau to ensure robust in-person outreach to AAPIs and other hard to count communities. It's ridiculous that the Census Bureau would suddenly change course and attempt to cut this effort short while we are in the midst of a pandemic which has made in-person outreach slower. The Census Bureau's work is not done until all Americans are counted. They have no right to walk away from the task now."

"We are already seeing the impact of COVID-19 on the census count. However, instead of being proactive to ensure we achieve a full count, the Trump administration has opted for repressive policies that will prevent an accurate count in Black communities, especially in hard to count areas," said Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Karen Bass (CA-33). "Limiting the window for self-response data collection and door knockers will make it that much harder to get a full count, especially for senior citizens who rely on these services. What we are witnessing is yet another deliberate attempt to further systemic racism in America by diminishing resources and representation in our communities. The outcomes of the 2020 Census will have a lasting effect on the Black community, not just for the next decade, but for generations. We demand that all resources are fully deployed to ensure all communities are fully counted."

"The Census Bureau's decision to reduce door knockers and self-response data collection by an entire month is alarming and risks wasting millions of taxpayer dollars that have gone into guaranteeing a complete and accurate count," said Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Joaquin Castro (TX-20). "Hard to count communities, including Latinos and immigrants, continue to lag far behind the national response rate. The 2020 Census is critical to ensuring our communities have full representation and equal access to federal funding for the next decade. The Bureau's last minute changes and lack of transparency reflects an administration that is actively working to disenfranchise and disinvest in vulnerable communities."