JACL Opposes Proposed Census Rule That Would Strip Millions from Representation and Erase Civil Rights Data

The Japanese American Citizens League opposes a U.S. Census Bureau rule proposed on September 10, 2026, that would exclude millions of people from the population count and end the collection of demographic data on race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Under the proposal, only U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents would count toward apportionment, excluding refugees, asylees, and people with Temporary Protected Status. Section Two of the Fourteenth Amendment states clearly that “Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State…” The Census Bureau justifies the exclusion in the proposed rule by pointing to these residents' “lack of a sufficient tie and allegiance to the United States.” While the drafters of the Fourteenth Amendment made an exclusion for 'Indians not taxed, ' there was never any mention of excluding someone based on citizenship or immigration status.

From 1922 to 1952, Japanese immigrants were barred from becoming citizens. Despite that, the government continued to count Japanese immigrants for apportionment. Within days of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Census Bureau began supplying other agencies with information on where people of Japanese ancestry lived. The data eventually reached the Western Defense Command before the removal from the West Coast began. What the government decided about Japanese immigrants was a judgment about who belonged in the United States, and the Census Bureau’s proposed rule is asking to make that determination again.

The proposal to ban questions on race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation is antithetical to the nature of the Census. The data the Census records is meant to accurately represent our nation and is the basis for the Voting Rights Act, political representation, federal funding formulas, and other policies meant to support individual states, counties, and municipalities. For our AANHPI community, this data is vital to better understand and serve our respective communities. Everyone deserves to be counted and represented accordingly.

The Census Bureau has yet to decide whether to include a legal status question in the 2030 census, and the proposed rule invites public comment on the question. A form to declare immigration status on the Census in our current political climate will chill participation in the Census and leave entire households, including citizen and immigrant residents, unaccounted for. Comments on the proposed rule are due by October 13, 2026, under docket USBC-2026-0628 at regulations.gov. JACL urges our chapters, members, and allies to submit comments, and we call on the Census Bureau to withdraw this proposal.