2020 Census

Legal fights over the use of census data brought protesters to the Supreme Court in 2019.

Biden Administration Tables Trump's Citizenship Data Request For Redistricting

6:03pm January 22, 2021

by Hansi Lo Wang

Trump officials had directed the Census Bureau to use government records to produce data that a GOP strategist said would be "advantageous to Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whites" during redistricting.

Protesters hold signs about the 2020 census in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2019. President-elect Joe Biden is set to reverse the Trump administration's policy of excluding unauthorized immigrants from population numbers used to reallocate congressi

Biden To End Trump Census Policy, Ensuring All Persons Living In U.S. Are Counted

1:40pm January 20, 2021

by Hansi Lo Wang

President-elect Joe Biden is set to reverse Trump's policy of excluding unauthorized immigrants from a key count that the Constitution says must include the "whole number of persons in each state."

Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham, a Trump appointee who wore a "2020 Census" mask while swearing in to testify before a congressional hearing last year, is set to leave on Jan. 20, months before his term ends on Dec. 31.

Trump's Census Director To Quit After Trying To Rush Out 'Indefensible' Report

6:45pm January 18, 2021

by Hansi Lo Wang

After whistleblowers revealed Director Steven Dillingham was quietly pushing for a "statistically indefensible" report, calls have been growing for him to leave before his term expires at year's end.

A demonstrator holds a sign about the U.S. census outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., in 2019. The Census Bureau has stopped all work on President Trump's directive to produce a count of unauthorized immigrants that could be subtracted from a k

Census Bureau Stops Work On Trump's Request For Unauthorized Immigrant Count

10:06am January 13, 2021

by Hansi Lo Wang

The Census Bureau has stopped trying to produce a count of unauthorized immigrants, ending the agency's role in Trump's bid to alter census numbers used for reallocating House seats, NPR has learned.

U.S. Census Director Steven Dillingham, a Trump appointee, wants employees at the bureau to make producing a data report about noncitizens "a number one priority" in the final days of the Trump administration, the Commerce Department Office of Inspector G

Trump's Census Director Is Trying To Rush Out Data On Noncitizens, Watchdog Says

8:36pm January 12, 2021

by Hansi Lo Wang

Whistleblowers told the Census Bureau's watchdog that Director Steven Dillingham's pushing them to make a report that would be "statistically indefensible" and could "tarnish" the bureau's reputation.

A demonstrator hands out a sign about the 2020 census outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., in 2019. The Census Bureau is projecting the first set of census numbers won't be ready until February, Trump administration attorneys told a federal

Trump's Census Plan In Peril As Bureau Expects February Release Of Count Results

9:19pm January 04, 2021

by Hansi Lo Wang

The Census Bureau has fallen further behind schedule in running quality checks on the 2020 census after uncovering more irregularities in the records, jeopardizing Trump's bid to alter a key count.

Flowchart depicting a relay race between three cats.

COMIC: How Your State Gets Power Via The Census (And What Trump Wants To Change)

1:59pm December 31, 2020

A little-known process determines your state's representation in Congress and the Electoral College. Trump wants to try to change it by excluding unauthorized immigrants for the first time in history.

Protesters carrying signs about the census gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court in 2019. Immigrant rights advocates have vowed to continue fighting President Trump's proposal.

National

Supreme Court Punts Census Case, Giving Trump An Iffy Chance To Alter Numbers

6:23am December 19, 2020

The opinion said the case was "riddled with contingencies and speculation" that impede judicial review. The president has sought to use a census count that does not include undocumented immigrants.

Queue Listen Now

Chris Worrell jokes with Teresa Jefferson while applying for a 2020 census job in Boston in February before the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on government records, the Census Bureau estimates the U.S. population has grown by as much as 8.7% since 2010.

Census Estimates U.S. Population As High As 336 Million Ahead Of Actual Count

5:33pm December 15, 2020

by Hansi Lo Wang

The Census Bureau has yet to release the 2020 census results, which are undergoing quality checks. Based on government records, it estimates the population has grown by as much as 8.7% since 2010.

Signs promoting the 2020 census hang on a fence in Reading, Pa., in September. The Census Bureau has found irregularities in this year's census responses that could affect the counting of millions of people.

Millions Of Census Records May Be Flawed, Jeopardizing Trump's Bid To Alter Count

5:40pm December 05, 2020

by Hansi Lo Wang

The number of 2020 census records requiring quality checks because of irregularities has ballooned into the millions. That may stop Trump from getting control of a key count before leaving office.