Congressional Democrats have warned that the US Census Bureau's plan to include a citizenship question in a practice test for the 2030 census could undermine the accuracy of the count and deter immigrants from participating. In a letter sent on Thursday, Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform urged the bureau to use a traditional questionnaire without the citizenship question for the upcoming field tests in Huntsville, Alabama, and Spartanburg, South Carolina, which are scheduled to begin next month.
The letter, addressed to acting Census Bureau Director George Cook and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, expressed concern that the use of the American Community Survey form, which includes the citizenship question, could jeopardise the once-a-decade head count. The Democrats stated that the Trump administration is “risking millions of taxpayer dollars to pursue policies which could fatally compromise the 2030 count before it even begins.” The Census Bureau and Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The field test is intended to help the statistical agency improve methods for counting populations that were undercounted in the last census. The census determines the allocation of congressional seats, Electoral College votes, and approximately $2.8 trillion in federal funding each year. Among the new methods being tested is the use of US Postal Service workers to perform tasks previously carried out by census workers.
In recent weeks, the Census Bureau announced plans for the 2026 test using the American Community Survey form, which asks a wide range of questions, and eliminated four other planned locations. The Democrats raised concerns that the citizenship question would lead to an undercount by deterring immigrants, including legal residents, from participating. They noted that many immigrants and those in mixed-status families face fear and uncertainty over potential denaturalisation and deportation efforts by the Trump administration.
During his first term, President Donald Trump unsuccessfully sought to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census form. The attempt was blocked by the US Supreme Court, and subsequent executive orders aimed at excluding undocumented immigrants from apportionment figures were rescinded under President Joe Biden. The Constitution’s 14th Amendment mandates the counting of “the whole number of persons in each state” for apportionment purposes, which the Census Bureau has historically interpreted as including all residents regardless of legal status.
