WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), questioned U.S. Census Bureau officials during the HSGAC Hearing on the bureau’s efforts to ensure that immigrant communities are accurately counted in the 2020 U.S. Census.
“Last week, I joined some of my colleagues in a letter to the Census Bureau to provide additional language options for the Internet Self-Response and Census Questionnaire Assistance, including Khmer, Hmong, and Lao. These support services would ensure that immigrant communities from places like Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos, including the large Laotian community in southern Nevada, can actively participate in the Census and be counted. As we note in the letter, communities sometimes face unique challenges because of refugee experiences, intergenerational poverty, and trauma faced during the Vietnam War. Did you have a chance to review our letter, and is there currently a plan to offer assistance and self-response in these languages?” asked Senator Rosen.
BACKGROUND: The letter to the Census Bureau can be viewed here.
Full video of this exchange is available here.
Nevada is home to the fastest growing AAPI community in the nation. According to the Pew Research Foundation, Asian Americans are the fastest growing immigrant group in the United States with nearly six out of ten born in another country.
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