RE: The Census Bureau's Proposed Race/Ethnicity Code List for the American Community Survey and the 2030 Census (USBC-2024-0022)

Asian American communities are among the fastest growing and most diverse racial groups in the United States. Often viewed as homogenous, these communities include around 40 detailed subgroups that can differ dramatically across key social and economic indicators. For example, in the context of health disparities, U.S.-born Vietnamese American women are four times more likely to die of breast cancer than any other Asian American group. Korean American children are “four times more likely to have no health insurance as compared to others.” Accessing disaggregated data is critical because it allows us to see these differences. When data are not disaggregated, broad trends can mask much more negative or nuanced outcomes for specific subgroups of people, leaving their needs and issues invisible and unmet. It is important that the data are collected on the vast, diverse communities that make up the Asian American group. 

Census data, including data from the ACS, are the building blocks for our society. They are the basis for reapportioning political representation and redistricting at all levels, informing effective and efficient policy and planning decisions, and distributing more than $2.8 trillion in federal funds to the states during fiscal year 2021.3 Without an accurate count of Asian Americans, policy and planning decisions will not address the needs of growing Asian American communities. Census data—especially data from ACS—provide the most comprehensive set of socioeconomic data on Asian American communities, especially for detailed subgroups. It is important that as the Census Bureau once again conducts its decennial review and revises its Race/Ethnicity Code List for the American Community Survey (hereafter, the Code List) it takes into account the growing and diversifying subgroups in the Asian American community.

Read our full comments by downloading the file below.