By: Laura Soukkavong
HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut Attorney General William Tong has joined a multistate effort opposing proposed changes to the 2030 U.S. Census, warning that the Trump administration’s plan could leave millions of people out of population counts and affect congressional representation and federal funding.
In a Nov. 5 announcement, Tong said Connecticut was among the jurisdictions represented by 24 attorneys general and two governors who submitted a formal comment letter objecting to the U.S. Census Bureau’s proposed rule. The coalition argues the changes would violate federal law and undermine the accuracy of the census.
The objections focus on three major elements of the proposal: excluding categories of noncitizens from the population count, prohibiting questions concerning race, ethnicity and sexual orientation, and changing the longstanding method for determining where people should be counted.
According to the attorney general’s office, the proposed exclusions would affect undocumented immigrants, people holding temporary work or student visas, exchange visitors, refugees, asylum seekers and certain U.S. nationals.
The coalition contends those exclusions conflict with the 14th Amendment’s requirement to count all persons for congressional apportionment and with provisions of the Census Act governing state population totals. Those are the coalition’s legal arguments; the announcement did not report a court ruling on the proposal.
The group also objects to restrictions on demographic questions. Its letter argues that states depend on information about race and ethnicity to identify disparities, administer programs, support research and enforce antidiscrimination laws.
A separate dispute concerns the census’s usual-residence standard, which has historically counted people where they ordinarily live and sleep. The proposal would instead consider where people lawfully spend the greatest number of days between Jan. 3 and April 1 and use tax records as evidence of residence.
The coalition warns that the proposed approach could count people at seasonal homes, workplaces or other locations where they do not normally reside, potentially shifting population totals between states.
Tong sharply criticized the administration’s proposal in the state announcement, arguing that it would redirect political representation and federal resources. He called for the proposed changes to be withdrawn.
Connecticut Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz also opposed the plan, saying the Census Bureau has worked to improve counts of historically undercounted populations, including racial and ethnic minorities and young children. She argued that the proposed rule would reverse those efforts and weaken the quality of census data.
The coalition includes attorneys general from Connecticut, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. The governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania also joined.
The filing is a formal objection during the federal rulemaking process. The attorney general’s announcement does not say the proposal has taken effect or that the states have filed a lawsuit over it.