The latest issue of the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, edited by former RSF visiting scholars Richard Alba (CUNY Graduate Center) and Kenneth Prewitt (Columbia University), analyzes the challenges of collecting accurate data on race and ethnicity in the Census at a time of rapid demographic change in the U.S. The issue gathers papers presented at a conference held at the Russell Sage Foundation in December 2016, titled “What the Census Bureau Needs to Know to Improve Ethnic, Racial, and Immigration Statistics” and includes contributions by a number of RSF authors, former visiting scholars, and grantees.
In a special afterword for the issue, editors Alba and Prewitt note, “In the period between the writing and the publishing of this volume, events have threatened the integrity of Census 2020.” In May 2017, the Census Bureau director overseeing the design of the 2020 Census resigned and the Trump administration has yet to appoint a replacement. The Census Bureau is also currently experiencing underfunding and multiple delays in preparatory work. As Alba and Prewitt point out, these factors could lead to failures to capture accurate and comprehensive data in the decennial Census.
At the same time, the U.S. Department of Justice has requested that the Census add citizenship status to the 2020 form. Many scholars, legislators, advocacy groups, and former Census Bureau directors have opposed this idea on the grounds that undocumented individuals may not complete or return the Census form if questions on citizenship are included. Alba and Prewitt note, “Cities and regions with a large number of immigrants will experience undercounting, with troubling results for political representation and public services.”
These concerns and others only further underscore the need for reliable and accurate Census data. The latest issue of Annals offers a variety of perspectives on how the Census can establish greater granularity in racial and ethnic identification in a changing America.
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