Re: Initial Proposals For Updating OMB’s Race and Ethnicity Standards

Advancing Justice has been working to eliminate the barriers that have historically resulted in the undercounting and underreporting of Asian Americans and NHPIs in federal data collection and analysis efforts, particularly in the decennial census count. Advancing Justice has conducted comprehensive national, state, and local outreach as well as educational projects focused on Asian American and NHPI communities for Census 2000, Census 2010, and Census 2020. Advancing Justice – AAJC recently published a report, Quality of the Decennial Census for Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Communities, which highlighted how our communities remain hard to count and are likely to be missed in federal data collection efforts. Ensuring our communities “see” themselves in how race and ethnic data are collected is an important aspect of our advocacy and engagement on data collection and reporting. We consider a fair and accurate census and American Community Survey (ACS) among the most significant civil rights issues facing the country today. We appreciate the importance of fact-based analyses for identifying disparate access and outcomes and devising effective solutions.