SACRAMENTO, CA — In response to the Trump administration’s proposal to overhaul the 2030 census, including excluding immigrants without green cards from the population count and eliminating questions on race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, the California Budget & Policy Center (Budget Center), a nonpartisan research and analysis nonprofit, issued the following statement from its communications director, Mauricio Torres:
“The Trump administration’s proposal to exclude immigrants from the official census count is a direct attack on our democracy and the ability for local, state, and federal policymakers to know how their communities are faring, who needs help, and make sure they get it.
“If entire communities aren’t counted, the public investments meant to make their lives better can’t be sized, funded, or designed correctly. Without accurate data on race, ethnicity, and who actually lives in this country, policymakers will be flying blind, unable to see hunger, poverty, or discrimination clearly enough to respond to it. The country’s affordability and cost of living challenges won’t go away just because the federal government refuses to track it.
“The United States has a long, dark history of deciding whose lives count and whose don’t, from the three-fifths compromise to decades of undercounting Black, Latino, and immigrant communities. We cannot go back to an era when entire groups of people were treated as less than whole in the eyes of the federal government.
“The census relies on integrity and accuracy in providing robust data that allows researchers like us to examine how public policies are helping Californians and where they’re falling short. Any proposal to undermine the integrity of the country’s constitutionally required data collection should be rejected by the courts, by Congress, and by anyone who believes good policy starts with the truth.”
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About the California Budget & Policy Center:
The California Budget & Policy Center (Budget Center) is a nonpartisan research and analysis nonprofit advancing public policies that expand opportunities and promote well-being for all Californians.
