Boston is lagging seriously behind on census response, leaving Bill Galvin ‘disappointed’
"This is the only official count we have for the next 10 years. They need to focus on this.”
Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin says he’s disappointed with Boston’s response rate for the 2020 census, which could affect the federal funds the city receives for critical public services, as well as its representation in Congress.
The city rate is a little over 53 percent, U.S. Census Bureau data shows. Meanwhile, the commonwealth as a whole has counted approximately 64 percent of households, WGBH News reports.
“I’m disappointed that Boston’s response has been ineffective,’’ Galvin told the news station. “I’m not just speaking of the mayor. The councilors are affected here also. Their districts are going to be affected by this. This is the only official count we have for the next 10 years. They need to focus on this.”
Galvin sounded off over the city’s census efforts after reports last week said the Trump Administration plans to end the door-to-door census count at the end of September — a month earlier than initially planned.
Galvin’s office noted the Census Bureau had previously said it would need through the end of October to complete the count. Bringing the process to an end in September means the effort will end less than two months after census workers began going door-to-door in many areas, state officials said.
“Ending the door-to-door count early will mean that many people will not be counted, and it is obviously just another attempt by the Trump Administration to sabotage the census,” Galvin said in a statement last week.
He told WGBH Tuesday that Massachusetts should fight the administration in court. Attorney General Maura Healey said her office plans to do just that.
“Donald Trump and his administration are fixated on erasing immigrant communities and depriving states with large immigrant populations of critical federal resources and equal representation in Congress,’’ Healey said in the statement to the station. “We’re going to court to make sure everyone in Massachusetts is counted and represented in Congress.”
Sebastian Zapata, a City of Boston census liaison, told WGBH News that officials are already navigating challenges in carrying out the efforts, particularly when it comes to counting foreign-born residents because of language barriers and “anti-immigrant rhetoric coming out of Washington D.C.”
Workers also have trouble reaching residents who live in “group quarters,” such as nursing homes, prisons, and dorms, according to officials.
“COVID-19 has shifted the way outreach for the census is conducted, but it has not detracted from our commitment to count everyone,’’ Zapata said in a statement to the news station. “We are continuing to work hard to increase Boston’s overall count and ensure we get fair representation and funding.”
According to WGBH News, Galvin has spoken with city officials regarding parts of Boston that need further efforts.
“It tends to be minority-inhabited wards and it tends to be of multiple dwellings,” Galvin said. “So these are all places that I think need help, and hopefully, we’ll get the focus of attention on it.”
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