Hispanic Federation Rejects U.S. Census Bureau’s Decision To Move Up Data Gathering Deadline to Sept. 30
For Immediate Release: Aug. 5, 2020
Contact:
Gebe Martinez
gebe.gmnetworking@gmail.com
703-731-9505
NEW YORK — Hispanic Federation, which is conducting a robust Census participation campaign, reaching more than one million people in Latino and immigrant communities across the nation, strongly opposes the U.S. Census Bureau’s plans to end data collection for the 2020 Decennial Census on September 30, a month earlier than previously announced.
The following is a statement by Hispanic Federation President Frankie Miranda:
“Hispanic Federation urges the U.S. Census Bureau to reconsider the decision to move up the data gathering deadline from October 31 to September 30. Moving up the deadline not only harms the entire nation while the pandemic rages on, but is also especially dangerous to communities of color, low income, and immigrant communities, who have lower response rates.
“The October 31 deadline was set in April when the bureau realized that the pandemic would increase the difficulty of finishing the Census data gathering in July. The only thing that has changed since then is the pandemic has grown worse in states and territories with high Latino populations like California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico.
“As of today, almost 40% of the U.S. population has not submitted their Census forms. That is too high. Cutting short the work of the Census Bureau to meet a politically imposed deadline flies in the face of the constitutional mandate to conduct an accurate census by counting every person.
“To move up the deadline is especially shameful as it comes on the heels of a recent order by the president to the U.S. Department of Commerce to exclude undocumented immigrants from the Congressional apportionment count, a move that was rebuked by legal and policy scholars for being unconstitutional and unenforceable.
“It’s clear these tactics are designed to undercount communities of color and immigrants when congressional district lines are redrawn. This decision will end up costing billions of dollars in federal funding to states and communities that need it the most, while also unfairly shifting the balance of power in Congress for the next 10 years.
“Hispanic Federation has worked all year to inform our communities about the importance of getting counted. That work includes reminding people that you can complete the Census via the internet, by phone, or by mail, and creating partnerships with Spanish language television networks to reach more than a million Latinos across the U.S. We also established a bilingual, direct hotline that people can call to get answers to their Census-related questions and get connected to a Census enumerator.
“With everything that is at stake, it is clear that we need to redouble our efforts to ensure everyone gets counted in the Census and defeat any effort meant to erase the Latino community’s presence in this country.”
