U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan assured a CNMI resident that “everyone who participates in the decennial census can record the race of their choice, including Refaluwasch or Carolinian.”
The congressman was responding to Agustin Litulumar who wanted “Refaluwasch” added to the list of races in the next CNMI decennial census in 2030.
Kilili noted that other groups of people in the U.S. can enter the name of their specific tribal group, such as Cherokee, Navajo, or Lakota for example. Also, African Americans can do the same whether they are Jamaican, Ethiopian, Somali, etc. Caucasian Americans, for their part, can indicate whether they’re German, English, Italian or some other racial group.
Kilili told Litulumar that while there is no specific “Refaluwasch” selection in the decennial census questionnaire, “you can still be recorded as such. And we encourage all Refaluwasch to do so.”
Kilili said the U.S. Census Bureau collects race data in strict accordance with the guidelines provided by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget’s standards on race and ethnicity. According to the Bureau of Census, OMB requires that data be collected for a minimum of five groups: White, Black or African American; American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.
Kilili said OMB permits the Bureau of Census to use a sixth category: “some other race.” Categories on race are based on self-identification and respondents may report two or more races, Kilili said.
The question in the 2020 Census in the CNMI was the same question asked throughout the United States. The CNMI and the other insular areas were not asked a different race question with different options, Kilili said.
“We have previously attempted to include Refaluwasch as a race category subset but have been told that the decision is strictly based on data. All Census questions and designs are subject to rigorous testing and research. There were likely too few respondents who would select Refaluwasch or Carolinian to justify placement in a questionnaire given to all Americans. Other members of the Congress have also tried to include other races and have been told the same. And it would be difficult to include every possible category of race in a Census form,” Kilili added.
He said in 2017, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus asked OMB to improve reporting categories for Pacific Islanders and Asians and provide “disaggregated race classifications.”
After a review of the various categories, OMB decided on the list of race and ethnic groups included in the 2020 Census.
After each decennial census, the Bureau of Census examines their products and tests different ways the census can be improved. The bureau also works closely with local governments and various stakeholders to finalize the questions for the subsequent census.
In 2026, Kilili said the Bureau of Census will ask the CNMI governor’s office to designate a local government point of contact for the 2030 census.
The CNMI Department of Commerce-Central Statistics Division has been the governor’s designee for the past several decennial censuses.
In preparation for the 2030 Census, Kilili said the CNMI Department of Commerce may work with the U.S. Bureau of Census to review the long-form questionnaire and recommend modifications. Census subjects and questions are scheduled to be reviewed in 2027, and made final in 2028.
Kilili urged Litulumar to share his concerns with the governor’s office and the CNMI Department of Commerce.
