LaMantia: It's not too early to start thinking about the 2030 Census

In Brownsville, we have a (housing) wait list of over 2,000 families, and yet we have 600 and soon to be, maybe, 800 homes available. That's because we're not meeting those Census numbers to get those bigger grants so that we can build additional affordable housing.”

Morgan LaMantia, Director, RioPlex

PHARR, Texas - It’s not too early to start thinking about and planning for the 2030 Census. That is the view of former state Sen. Morgan LaMantia.

“You’re right, 2030 is a long time away. But the Census is such a huge project. We are talking about counting every single person, no matter the age, all across the Rio Grande Valley,” LaMantia told the Rio Grande Guardian.

LaMantia handles community relations and governmental affairs for L&F Distributors. She is also a director of RioPlex. Last week, she participated in an in-depth discussion on the 2030 Census with other key stakeholders at Pappadeaux in Pharr. The meeting was convened by the Prosperity Task Force and included a presentation by Angela Broyles, president and CEO of the Texas Census Institute.

Asked how bad the undercount was in the 2020 Census, LaMantia said: “It was quite significant. We're talking about an undercount of 20,000 children in Hidalgo County. And over 15,000 children in Cameron County. And we're talking about over 500,000 people being undercounted across the state of Texas.”

That undercount has had a “huge impact” on the amount of federal dollars and the grants that Texas receives, LaMantia pointed out. 

“Across education, across healthcare and across just so many different areas, including food and housing. We are feeling the impact of that today in less funding coming to our region than should be,” LaMantia said. 

LaMantia said that lack of funding is also being felt by the Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley and Loaves and Fishes.

“They don't have enough supplies. They don't have enough funding to really meet the needs that we have here in the Valley,” she said. “We’re also seeing it with our housing authorities. In Brownsville, we have a wait list of over 2,000 families, and yet we have 600 and soon to be, maybe 800 homes available. That's because we're not meeting those Census numbers to get those bigger grants so that we can build additional affordable housing.”

LaMantia said that by working with the nonpartisan Texas Census Institute, Valley leaders can build early awareness of and readiness for the 2030 Census. By doing so, she said, data accuracy, coordination, and community engagement can be strengthened across the region.

Editor's Note: Here is a video recording of the Guardian's interview with Morgan LaMantia:

Plan of Action

Here is a rough draft of the plan of action:

2025 - Preliminary Moves

Set up a Census 2030 working group within the Prosperity Task Force.

2026 - Readiness Assessment

• Assess local capacity and readiness to support Get Out the County (GOTC) and Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) preparation.
• Conduct gap analysis to identify needs in staffing, data, and outreach.
• Establish a Regional Advisory Committee to guide planning. 
• Hire regional staff to coordinate activities.

2027 - Blueprint Development

• LUCA participation
• Identify partners and vendors to fill gaps in data, outreach, and operations, and issue RFPs for local projects
• Define funding needs and an RGV Census Implementation Plan.

2028 - Capacity Building

• Expand partnerships, training and pilot outreach efforts to prepare for 2029 activation.

2029 - Education & Mobilization 

• Launch coordinated education, outreach, and motivation campaigns led by trusted local partners.

2030 - Activation

• Support on-the-ground efforts and coordination during active enumeration.