Sacramento, CA – As 2020 Census efforts are underway across the country, on Tuesday, July 21st the Trump administration released a memo proposing to exclude undocumented immigrants from participating and counting in the 2020 Census. This news is particularly troubling as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities have historically been undercounted in the Census, and across our state over an estimated 460,000 undocumented Asians who call California home could be affected. The Census is an important data collection tool and a snapshot of our country every ten years. An accurate Census count of AANHPIs and other hard to reach communities is critical as Census data determines for our state congressional representation and the allocation of billions of federal funds for programs in health care, education, highway construction, housing and more.
On July 22nd, ARI’s Executive Director, Stephanie Nguyen participated in a press event and stated, “For the past 40 years ARI has reached thousands of underserved community members, many who are limited English speakers and immigrants. ARI is working hard to educate our community about the importance of completing their 2020 Census form. Excluding undocumented immigrants form the Census is unconstitutional. We will not allow the current administration to suppress Census participation by our community members and prevent critical resources from reaching our community.”
Asian Resources, Inc encourages our AANHPI communities to continue to fill out their census forms. We will fight to protect the immigrant communities we serve, and will not allow this administration to further disenfranchise them. Complete your 2020 Census today by visiting: www.2020census.gov or by calling ARI at 916-454-1892 for in-language assistance.