Attorney General Bonta Co-Leads Multistate Fight Against Trump Administration’s Threats to Accurate 2030 Census

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra - Press Releases · November 2, 2026 · g5378538

November 2, 2026 Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today co-led a coalition of 24 attorneys general and two governors in submitting a comment letter strongly opposing the Trump Administration’s proposed changes to the 2030 Census . A proposed rule by the U.S. Census Bureau would upend the upcoming 2030 Census by, among other things, excluding millions of noncitizens and prohibiting questions about race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Among other harms, these changes would undermine the accuracy of the census, put communities at risk of losing political representation, and threaten access to critical federal funding. Based on available data, the proposal would exclude roughly 16.1 million people nationwide from the census count, including around 3 million California residents — more than 7.5% of the state’s population. “The U.S. Constitution requires that the Census count every person living in the United States. The Trump Administration doesn’t get to pick and choose who is included,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Excluding millions of people is not only blatantly unlawful, but also threatens communities’ political representation and distorts access to critical federal funding. My fellow attorneys general and I have fought to protect a fair and accurate census before, and we will not hesitate to do so again. The U.S. Census Bureau must abandon this unlawful rule.” In the comment letter, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that the proposed rule would: Unlawfully exclude millions of immigrants from the census count. The Trump Administration’s proposed rule would exclude many people living in the United States, including undocumented immigrants, people on temporary visas (such as temporary work visas, student visas, and exchange visitor visas), refugees, asylum seekers, and even certain U.S. nationals. The coalition argues that these exclusions violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s requirement to count all persons for congressional apportionment and the Census Act, which requires the Census Bureau to report each state’s total population for determining its share of congressional seats. Undermine critical demographic data that states rely on to serve their communities. The Trump Administration’s proposed rule would prohibit questions about race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, depriving states of critical data they rely on to shape public policy, identify disparities, evaluate government programs, enforce antidiscrimination laws, and support research. The decennial census has collected demographic information, including about race, since 1790. Jeopardize census accuracy by abandoning the longstanding usual residence standard. Since the first census in 1790, the census has counted people at their usual residence — where they typically live and sleep. The proposal would abandon that longstanding principle in favor of a new test based on where people lawfully spend the greatest number of days between January 3 and April 1, while also relying on tax records as evidence of residency. This could result in people being counted in vacation homes, workplaces, or other places where they do not ordinarily live, distorting state population counts and the apportionment of political representation. The California Department of Justice has fought efforts to undermine a fair and accurate census before. In March 2018, California filed the first lawsuit against the Trump Administration over its attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. In June 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower courts after finding that the Administration’s stated rationale for adding the question was inadequate . The Administration abandoned its effort the following month, and a federal court permanently blocked the question in August 2019. Attorney General Bonta has continued that fight. In August 2025, after President Trump called for a new census that would exclude undocumented immigrants, Attorney General Bonta warned that California was prepared to take legal action again to protect a complete and accurate count. In March 2026, he joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in opposing the Administration’s plan to add a citizenship question to the 2030 Census test, reduce the number of test sites, and replace Census Bureau staff with postal workers. Today’s comment letter was co-led by Attorney General Bonta and the attorneys general of Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York. Joining them are the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia as well as the governors of the Commonwealths of Kentucky and Pennsylvania. Tags: Federal Accountability

Источник: California Attorney General Xavier Becerra - Press Releases