Colorado Health Foundation Statement on the Trump Administration’s Attempt to Exclude Undocumented Immigrants from 2020 Census Data

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The Colorado Health Foundation believes that our institutions of government should serve every member of our community, and this demands that our political and policymaking processes fully include all of us. A complete U.S. Census count and accurate Census data are fundamental keystones to thousands of policy decisions that impact the lives of Coloradans and the extent to which health is in reach for all of us. Over the last few years, the Foundation has supported many initiatives and organizations working to ensure a fair and accurate count of everyone in Colorado, as required by the Constitution of the United States of America. Simply put, the Census is about money, power and data, and each of these have direct connections to our health. Ensuring the validity and accuracy of Census data is one of the most impactful actions we could take to ensure that public and private investments are advancing equity within and across communities. We condemn and denounce the actions outlined in the Presidential Memorandum issued by President Donald Trump last week, because they would exclude immigrants from many important policy decisions that will be made based on data from the 2020 Census.

For more than two centuries, the Census has been core to our democracy. Participation in the Census must remain fair, accessible and equitable to all individuals in our nation and in our state. The actions outlined in this White House memo may suppress Census participation by raising fears about individual and household data privacy. Any action that decreases Census participation, particularly among immigrants, refugees, people of color, and other traditionally hard to count populations, will diminish the ability of public and private institutions to fully serve our communities and will perpetuate the systemic racism at the core of so many inequities in our society.

Every person in Colorado counts, and we continue our call to action: fill out the census form online at www.my2020census.gov before October 31 and participate locally through Complete Count Committees or other local advocacy groups to ensure that your friends, families, neighbors and fellow Coloradans have a chance to be counted.

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