NALEO Educational Fund Condemns Proposed Rule That Would Make Latinos Disappear in the 2030 Census

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The administration’s proposed changes to residence criteria and race and ethnicity data collection would erase Latino communities from the national count — and circumvent the Constitution in doing so

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund released the following statement from CEO Erica Bernal-Martinez condemning the Department of Commerce and Census Bureau’s proposed rule on residence criteria and race and ethnicity data collection for the 2030 Census:

“For the communities across the nation — the families, neighbors, colleagues who make up these communities — this proposed rule is not an administrative technicality. It is an attempt to make Latinos and other communities disappear in the 2030 Census. NALEO Educational Fund condemns it in the strongest possible terms.

“This administration is attempting to circumvent the Constitution through a proposed rule that would exclude many non-citizens from the apportionment count, in direct violation of the 14^th Amendment’s mandate to count every person. It would also eliminate race and ethnicity data collection from the decennial census — something the United States has done continuously since 1790. Today, Latinos comprise one in five U.S. residents. That data is not incidental. It is the foundation for fair representation, the allocation of federal resources to communities, civil rights enforcement, and sound planning and decision-making at every level of government. Eliminating it would weaken the data used in public policymaking and render Latinos and other communities invisible while stripping away the opportunities and protections that require an accurate count.

“Census 2020 already saw a historic undercount of Latinos. Census 2030 risks far worse. NALEO Educational Fund will vigorously oppose this rule and stand with the elected and appointed officials on the frontlines fighting for the future of their constituents and communities.”

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Posted by Latino Lubbock Magazine Digital Media