Commerce Department drafts rule to drop race, LGBTQ+ data and exclude undocumented residents from 2030 Census

Internal documents show the Department of Commerce is reviewing a rule that would strip the 2030 Census of questions on race and sexual orientation, claiming personal queries create distortions. The same draft states that individuals classified as illegal aliens should be omitted from the apportionment count, implying a return to a citizenship question. Critics, including Cornell professor Danah Boyd, say the move would undermine the Voting Rights Act by making it harder to assess minority representation in districts.

An anonymous Health and Human Services employee notes that many federal programs allocate money based on census figures, so excluding undocumented residents could deprive high-need localities of funds. Another anonymous Commerce employee worries the rule would intimidate undocumented people, suppressing participation and political power. The proposal follows earlier Republican attempts, such as Representative August Pfluger’s COUNT Act and Senator Jim Banks’s letter to Secretary Howard Lutnick, to reshape census methodology.