Boston, MA – Eva Millona, President and CEO of the MIRA Coalition and Chair of the Statewide Complete Count Committee, issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the National Urban League case and the Census Bureau’s decision to stop the count for the 2020 Census.
“Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling cuts short the census timeline, undermines local efforts, and disrupts the critical outreach necessary for a fair and accurate count of everyone in the Commonwealth. An inaccurate count will harm our communities, impacting many lives, including immigrants, people of color, young children, and many more for the next ten years and beyond.
“The chaos caused by the Trump Administration continues. Census Bureau officials told the courts that they cannot produce accurate data by December 31st. Now it is up to Congress to ensure that the quality of the count meets the highest standards.”
Households can complete the Census online at my2020census.gov or by calling 844-330-2020.
Background of the case:
National Urban League, et al. v. Wilbur L. Ross, et al., Federal District Court, Northern District of California
Yesterday afternoon, the Supreme Court allowed the Census Bureau to end the census count by overturning the preliminary injunction. The Census Bureau has since said that the count will conclude on October 15 (11:59 pm Hawaii Standard Time, HST / October 16, 6:00 am Eastern Daylight Time, ET).
In mid-August, National Urban League, various municipalities, and other plaintiffs sued the Census Bureau in federal court for sudden changes in its operations timeline that cut down the data collection period for the decennial census by one month, and contradicted their past statements to census partners.
On September 24, the district court issued a preliminary injunction that required the Census Bureau to continue the count beyond the new deadline (September 30) and possibly until October 31. The government appealed.
On October 7, the federal appeals court held that the census must continue until 10/31. This signaled that it was up to Congress to extend the reporting deadline. The government again appealed.
About the Statewide Complete Count Committee:
The SCCC is responsible for coordination, development and implementation of strategic outreach through partnerships across the Commonwealth. Our partners include community organizations, local leaders, the Secretary of the Commonwealth and the Census Bureau. Our work includes:
- Training and education – sharing the most up to date census information and operations
- Providing tools (outreach planning, setting up, and materials)
- Ensuring that our historically undercounted communities are at the center of our census efforts
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