Washington, DC – A collective effort by SEARAC, community partners, and supporters mobilized 573 public comments opposing the proposed changes to the 2030 Census, surpassing the campaign’s goal of 500. These comments join nearly 150,000 submissions from individuals and organizations across the country calling for a census that reflects all our communities.
Additionally, SEARAC’s comment to the US Census Bureau, signed by 32 organizations, urged the agency to withdraw the proposal in full. Together, we called on the Bureau to:
- Retain detailed race and ethnicity questions, which help identify disparities affecting Southeast Asian American communities and inform policy and services.
- Count all residents toward congressional representation, regardless of immigration status, to protect the political representation of the communities where they live.
- Remove the proposed prohibition on sexual orientation questions, preserving the Bureau’s ability to collect data that reflect LGBTQ+ communities in future censuses.
For Southeast Asian Americans, detailed census data reflect decades of advocacy to ensure our communities are seen and that policies address the challenges our families face. As stated in our comment, removing these questions would obscure disparities, while excluding immigrant residents from congressional population counts could diminish representation for entire communities.
We thank our partners and supporters for fighting back against our community’s erasure.
The comment period has closed, but the Bureau has yet to make its final decision. SEARAC will continue working with our partners to urge the agency to withdraw this harmful proposal.
