Following a recent settlement reached between the U.S. Census Bureau and multiple litigants, the bureau is expected to release 2020 Census data at the end of April.
Among the stipulations are a requirement that the bureau include non-citizens in population numbers for congressional and state-level purposes of determining districts, and the elimination of an illegal alien section of citizenship data that had been requested by the administration of former President Donald Trump, according to a press release from law firm Latham and Watkins.
The Los Angeles Attorney’s Office also told the Northern California Record that the city’s residents would have been particularly hard-hit by efforts to shorten both the count and the processing of data, which the office alleges the Trump administration had attempted in order to have the data released prior to Trump leaving office.
"Angelenos have so much riding on accurate census results, from political representation to our fair share of crucial federal funding,” city attorney Mike Feuer said.
Feuer said that the city participated in the months-long litigation that both led to the count and the processing of data being extended in order to ensure city residents are represented.
“We fought because the Trump administration's attempts to rush the census would have undercounted our residents and hurt our city for at least a decade,” he said. “This resolution, achieved with extraordinary partners, will help ensure genuine transparency and fuller, fairer, more reliable results."
A statement from the U.S. Census Bureau said that the bureau shares an interest in a transparent, fair and accurate census.
“Our census partners have played an essential role in encouraging response to the 2020 Census across the country during these unprecedented times,” the statement said. “We continue to focus on processing and releasing data from the 2020 Census which represents the culmination of over a decade of dedicated work by many federal employees. We will take the time needed to produce 2020 Census data that meets our quality standards as a statistical agency.”