LCLAA Opposes the Census Bureau’s Decision to Shorten Census Operations

Press Release
4 August 2020

Washington D.C.- Last night the U.S. Census Bureau announced that it will end its field data collection, and self- response period, by September 30, 2020- a full month earlier than what had been originally planned. This move could be detrimental for hard-to-reach communities, people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, people in rural areas, young children, as well as other groups that have historically been undercounted. If these communities are undercounted, they will miss out on critical resources, as well as political representation for the next decade.

Depriving millions of people of their constitutional right to partake in our nation’s headcount has become a concerning pattern in the past few years. This administration has focused on reshaping the outcome of the census by instilling fear and confusion in our communities. A successful 2020 Census requires counting everyone and following-up with those who did not respond on their own. That task is a high bar under usual circumstances — and it’s even higher during a pandemic.

LCLAA joins forces with all those organizations and individuals requesting Congress to extend the statutory reporting deadlines for apportionment and redistricting in the next COVID relief bill and allocate $400 Million to address continued 2020 Census challenges brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. A failed census fails the whole country!

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The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) is the leading national organization for Latino(a) workers and their families. LCLAA was born in 1972 out of the need to educate, organize and mobilize Latinos in the labor movement and has expanded its influence to organize Latinos in an effort to impact workers’ rights and their influence in the political process. LCLAA represents the interest of more than 2 million Latino workers in the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), The Change to Win Federation, Independent Unions and all its membership. Visit LCLAA on the web at www.lclaa.org, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.