Census Bureau's September Proposal Draws Fire: Citizenship Question Planned for 2030, Comment Period Extended to Nov. 2
WASHINGTON — On September 9, 2026, the Trump administration published a proposed Census Bureau rule in the Federal Register that would make sweeping changes to the 2030 census. With the public comment period now extended to November 2, debate over the September proposal intensified in October, and CNBC reported on the growing controversy on October 13.
The proposed rule has four main elements: adding a citizenship question to the 2030 census; excluding people who are not lawful permanent residents from the census counts used to apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives; redefining the concept of "usual residence"; and eliminating the race and ethnicity questions that have been part of the census since the first count in 1790, while also prohibiting questions on sexual orientation.
On the timeline: the proposal was published on September 9, and a Federal Register notice on October 5 extended the public comment period to November 2.
In opposition, New York State Attorney General Letitia James and New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin issued a joint statement on October 1 against the proposal, saying it conflicts with the Fourteenth Amendment's requirement that House seats be apportioned according to the "whole number of persons in each State," and saying they are prepared to sue.
In support, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said the census should be "colorblind."
The advocacy group Hands Off Our Census, which analyzed the comments submitted so far, says that of more than 15,000 public comments, 88% oppose the proposal. That figure comes from the advocacy group's own analysis and is not an official government statistic.
Source: Federal Register proposed rule published September 9, 2026, and extension notice of October 5; CNBC, October 13.
Source: 《联邦公报》拟议规则与延期通知、CNBC
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 美国人口普查局总部（马里兰州苏特兰），美国人口普查局照片，公有领域（Wikimedia Commons）
