The latest U.S. Census Bureau news from The Texas Tribune.
The census does not include an option for people to identify as Middle Eastern or North African Americans. That leaves Arab Texans to identify as white or “other” on the all-important national count. Full Story
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Texas is among the states that could lose congressional seats and federal funds if undocumented immigrants are excluded from crucial calculations. Full Story
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Plaintiffs in the case contend that a shortened timeline would result in an undercount of harder-to-count populations, including immigrants, people of color and lower-income groups, depriving them of funding and representation. Full Story
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The government had requested a stay after a federal judge blocked the administration’s efforts to end the count last week and process the data in time to deliver it to the president for apportionment by a statutory deadline of Dec. 31. Full Story
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Experts say the extension could help the historically undercounted state regain lost ground. Texans are already responding to the census at a substantially lower rate than the national average. Full Story
A federal judge in California late Thursday ordered that the census count should continue until Oct. 31, the date the Census Bureau had planned on before the administration abruptly shortened the count. Full Story
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Trump's bid to exclude undocumented immigrants from population counts for redistricting could cost Texas three seats in Congress. Thursday's ruling could still be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Full Story
The ruling is the first in a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration's plans to wind down the count a month early. Democrat-led Harris County joined the challenge last month. Full Story
After rejecting efforts to spend state money on outreach to help ensure an accurate census count, Republican leaders are now dipping into federal coronavirus relief funds to pay for a last-minute ad campaign. Full Story
After the Trump administration announced an abrupt change to the census deadline, the largest county in Texas is among those suing to keep the count going until October. Full Story
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On this week's TribCast, Alexa talks to Matthew, Patrick and Cassi about the Biden campaign's recent activity in Texas, the fallout of a census undercount and early indications of what the legislative session might look like in a pandemic. Full Story
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The Census Bureau on Monday lopped a month off the time people have to respond to the 2020 count. Texas is already lagging behind the country in response rates, with low-income and Hispanic Texans at high risk of being missed. Full Story
The Trump administration wants to exclude undocumented immigrants from the population counts used to determine seats in Congress, an idea that would cut into the strength of the Texas delegation to Washington, D.C. Full Story
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If it withstands legal challenges, the memo signed Tuesday by the president could cost Texas several seats in Congress. But it's unclear what data would be used to parse undocumented immigrants from the overall population counts. Full Story
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New U.S. census estimates show the gap between Hispanic and white populations in the state continues to narrow, and Hispanics are projected to become the largest population group a year earlier than previously expected. Full Story
Coaxing census participation was going to be hard enough in some of Texas' poorest communities. With coronavirus restrictions, organizers turned to driving sound trucks around colonias on the border, but now even that won't be possible. Full Story
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Years of work went into planning neighborhood canvasses and educational efforts to reach out to every Texan, especially those most likely to be missed in the tally. Now those efforts are down for the count. Full Story
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The accuracy of the count in the state will go a long way toward determining its economic, social and political future. Full Story
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Local governments, nonprofits and churches are stepping into the organizational void left after Republican Texas lawmakers shot down any significant funding for state efforts to avoid an undercount in the 2020 census. Full Story
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Several nonprofits, local governments and philanthropy organizations have formed Texas Counts, a coalition aimed at ensuring an accurate census count in 2020, which could affect representation in Congress and billions in federal funding. Full Story
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