NALEO Educational Fund’s Response to Urban Institute Report on Possible 2020 Census Undercount

The Urban Institute’s estimates published today provide another warning sign of a potential undercount of the Latino community and very young children in the 2020 Census

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund today released the following statement from CEO Arturo Vargas, following the Urban Institute’s 2020 Census reportestimating possible undercounts of various population groups: “The estimates provided in the Urban Institute’s 2020 Census analysis are another indicator of a potential undercount of the Latino community and very young children in Census 2020 that is greater than the undercount in 2010. These findings are consistent with the warning signs we saw in the apportionment data released by the Census Bureau in April, which showed that the nation’s overall growth between 2010 and 2020 was the second-slowestof any decade in our nation’s history. We also saw evidence of a potential census undercount in these data when states with significant Latino populations which were projectedto gain congressional seats either failed to do so (Arizona) or gained fewer seats than projected (Florida and Texas). There were additional signs of an undercount of Latinos and very young children when the Census Bureau released the redistricting data from Census 2020 in August. The Urban Institute’s estimates regarding a potential undercount of very young children (age 0–4) also indicate a trend similar to that highlighted by the analysisof the redistricting data by Dr. William O’Hare, a foremost youth demographer. Dr. O’Hare’s research suggests that Census 2020 may have missed nearly 832,000 (4.4 percent) Latino youth (age 0–17), compared to 391,000 (2.1 percent) in 2010. We urge the Census Bureau to continue conducting evaluations and providing data quality indicators that will help inform our understanding of a potential undercount of Latinos and other population groups in Census 2020. This includes continued engagement of data experts, advocates, and other stakeholders as the Bureau moves forward with the Post-Enumeration Survey (PES), demographic analysis, and other evaluations. We encourage the Bureau to keep stakeholders informed of any challenges it has encountered in conducting and evaluating the PES. We also encourage the Bureau to start considering the impact of an undercount of Latinos on the full range of activities for which Census 2020 data are used, including civil rights enforcement and federal funding. With so much at stake, the Bureau must start to assess the options to ameliorate an undercount of the nation’s second-largest population group.

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About NALEO Educational Fund NALEO Educational Fund is the nation's leading non-profit, non-partisan organization that facilitates the full participation of Latinos in the American political process, from citizenship to public service.

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