The US Census Bureau has proposed a rule that would fundamentally change who is counted in the 2030 Census and what demographic information the Census collects. The proposal would:
- Strip people from the apportionment count based on immigration status. That includes many people who reside in the US but are not citizens or green card holders, including refugees, asylees, asylum seekers, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, people on H-1B and other work visas, international students, and people with pending green-card applications.
- Rely on immigration and other government records to decide who is counted. This raises serious concerns about privacy, accuracy, outdated records, and how mixed-status families would be treated.
- Eliminate race and ethnicity questions and prohibit questions about sexual orientation. Losing this data would mean communities and policymakers lose a crucial tool to identify disparities, enforce civil rights protections, and plan for community needs, especially those of LGBTQI+ newcomers.
We all have the right to be counted. The Constitution requires the Census to count the “whole number of persons in each State.” The residence criteria have historically determined where a person is counted, not whether they are counted. The proposed rule runs counter to this foundational principle of the Census.
Census data is used to determine everything from the number of representatives we have in Congress to how more than $2.8 trillion in federal funding gets distributed, from schools and infrastructure to healthcare, food assistance, and child care programs. It also underpins civil rights enforcement, public health and safety planning, and economic development. Accurate data means every community gets its fair share of resources and representation.
LGBTQI+ newcomers already face significant barriers to accessing services. The proposed rule would undermine the data those services depend on and exclude many LGBTQI+ newcomers from the count used to determine political representation — weakening the demographic snapshot used to identify disparities and community needs.
Tell the Census Bureau: Protect a Fair and Accurate 2030 Census
Join us in advocating for LGBTQI+ newcomers by submitting a comment by November 2nd, 2026. A short, personal comment can help demonstrate how these proposed changes would affect real people and communities across the country. Find instructions and templates here.
The Census Bureau states that anonymous comments are accepted. To submit an anonymous comment, write your comment directly at https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/USBC-2026-0628-0001 and select "Anonymous." Anonymous comments will be viewable to the public.
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