Friday, March 29, 2024

The U.S. Census Bureau Sworn in the First Latino Director

This week, Robert Santos was sworn in as the head of the U.S. Census Bureau, becoming the first Latino director of the nation’s largest statistical agency.

Robert Santos, former Chief Methodologist, and Vice President at the Urban Institute became the bureau’s 26th director. In November, the Senate approved Santos, a third-generation Mexican American statistician from San Antonio, Texas.

Among his many responsibilities, Santos will be leading the execution of the next census in 2030, as well as managing the data gathered during the 2020 census and supervising other bureau programs.

The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund released a statement saying that Santos must now rebuild confidence in the bureau following a 2020 census troubled by the pandemic, natural disasters, and political interference from the Trump Administration.

“Mr. Santos is a tremendous leader and I have full confidence that he will lead the Census Bureau with integrity in the years ahead,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo in a statement.

U.S News