BOSTON — As Massachusetts officials look ahead to support the U.S. Census Bureau on its next count in 2030, Secretary of State William Galvin warned that unreliable local records and the federal landscape around immigration enforcement could affect the accuracy of population data.
Addressing a Senate panel Monday, Galvin also asked the branch to agree with the House’s fiscal 2026 budget and give his office an additional $500,000 to support Census work.
Under state law, cities and towns must produce annual lists of their residents, which can be an important source of information about local populations and all of the addresses – including new developments and converted industrial properties – where people are residing, Galvin said.
“I’m very concerned about the quality of those records going into the current situation, and let me tell you why,” Galvin told the Senate Committee on the Census, which is chaired by Sen. William Brownsberger. “There’s been a change in personnel, not just at the Census Bureau but in localities as well.”
The stress of the pandemic and the 2020 election caused a wave of retirements among local clerks and elections officials, Galvin said. He signaled that has also caused a loss of institutional knowledge.
“It’s been more challenging to do these local counts, and that challenge has really intensified over the last few months because many of the communities that take the annual listing had enough problems, or they were inefficient enough in what they did,” Galvin said. “And now, many of them are reporting to us a reluctance on the part of their non-native born citizens especially, and those that have children especially, to answer even these basic questionnaires.”
He added, “Just in the last few days, I’ve spoken to Massachusetts educators who’ve told me that they believe, especially in some of the urban districts, that the actual number of school-aged children that they have in the schools is not accurately reflected in some of the statistics because the parents are afraid to say – in some cases, to send them to school – but more, they’re afraid to say where they live, what apartment they’re in, that kind of thing.”
Census data is used to determine the apportionment of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as the distribution of federal dollars.
New immigration law enforcement policies under the Trump administration have spawned raids throughout Massachusetts, including in cities with a large volume of immigrants.
“I think in the context of the Census, it’s going to leave scars,” Galvin said. “It’s going to put fear, that people will be reluctant to say things and do things.”
Brownsberger agreed that is a “huge concern that we really have to take home and think about.”
State and local governments have options to support the Census Bureau’s work, including by appointing liaisons. In Massachusetts, Galvin serves as the nonpartisan liaison to the Redistricting Data Program.
Tribal, state and local governments can also participate in the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) program, in which they can make suggestions about adding, deleting or updating residential addresses. The effort kicks off in 2027, and the Census Bureau describes LUCA as “an important step towards ensuring everyone is counted in the 2030 Census.”
With the state’s heightened focus on housing production, Galvin said Massachusetts will be “more intense” when it comes to LUCA in the upcoming census.
“That’s a critical program, really not just because of the new construction that might have occurred,” Galvin said. “But for us, like I said, some of the transition of buildings that were never housing into housing, but also the subdivision of existing buildings, especially in urban areas, into more units, more living spaces. Whether they’re legal or not, if there’s people there, we want to make sure we know about it, so the Bureau can know about it.”
Galvin urged senators to steer an additional $500,000 to his office for Census efforts through a fiscal 2026 budget line item. With House and Senate negotiations underway, Galvin pointed out the House budget allocates the extra money, while the Senate package does not. The appropriation would provide funding and assistance to municipalities as they begin working on the LUCA program, Galvin spokesperson Deb O’Malley said.
Brownsberger had told Galvin he supports the grants. But Sen. Becca Rausch, the panel’s vice chair, later pressed the secretary to explain why his office delayed distributing grants for the 2020 census.
Galvin countered there was not a delay, though his office had to develop a system to vet applications and install reporting requirements – before the pandemic disrupted community groups’ initial plans.
Massachusetts logged a population of more than 7 million residents in the last census, which Brownsberger said was “actually a really big surprise” and a “favorable indicator about the job that was done.”
“I also want to say I really appreciate some accountability because it’s all too easy to throw money out the door,” Brownsberger said.