FILE - In this April 1, 2020, file photo, people walk past posters encouraging participation in the 2020 Census in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood.
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)ORLANDO, Fla. Halfway through the extended effort to count every U.S. resident, civil rights leaders worry that minority communities are falling behind in responding to the 2020 census.
With the new coronavirus spreading, the Census Bureau suspended field operations in mid-March for a month and a half, including efforts to drop off census forms at households in rural areas with no traditional addresses.
The Census Bureau on Thursday said it had finished dropping off the forms to almost all of the 6.8 million mostly rural households.
We are risking another decreased count in 2020 census, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, a Democrat from New York City, said Thursday during a conference call.