Twenty-four states challenge proposed 2030 Census changes
A coalition led by Connecticut Attorney General William Tong submitted a formal objection to rules that would exclude millions of residents and drop key demographic questions.
By David Marshall ·
Twenty-four state attorneys general and two governors joined a legal challenge this week against proposed changes to the 2030 federal census. The coalition submitted a comment letter opposing a new rule from the U.S. Census Bureau. The rule would alter how the government counts the population in one decade.
The proposal was drafted by the Trump Administration. It suggests excluding millions of noncitizens from the final count. The group includes undocumented immigrants, individuals on temporary work or student visas, refugees, and asylum seekers. The coalition argues this violates the Fourteenth Amendment. That constitutional clause requires counting all persons for congressional apportionment. The Census Act also mandates reporting total state populations to determine congressional seats.
The rule would also remove questions about race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. The census has collected data on race since 1790. State officials rely on these statistics to shape public policy. They use the data to identify disparities and enforce antidiscrimination laws. The coalition states that dropping these questions deprives states of essential information.
A third major change involves the definition of residence. For 240 years, the census counted people at their usual residence. The new rule would replace this standard with a test based on where people lawfully spend the most days between January 3 and April 1. The proposal would also use tax records as evidence of residency. Critics warn this could count people at vacation homes or workplaces. This shift could distort state population numbers and political representation.
Attorney General William Tong called the plan illegal. He said in a release on Thursday that the administration wants to shift power to preferred states. Tong noted that this would be the first time in 250 years that immigrants are excluded from the count. He described the scheme as a manipulation of taxpayer funding and political power.
Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz also supported the letter. She said the census bureau has worked to reduce undercounts of racial and ethnic minorities. She warned that the new rule would make it impossible to count all communities equally. The coalition includes attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. The District of Columbia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania also signed the letter.
The next step involves the Census Bureau reviewing the formal objection. The agency must address the comments before finalizing the rule for the 2030 count. The coalition expects the bureau to reverse the proposed changes.
