Article 1, Section 2
The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative;
Given the importance of the U.S. Census, there are many laws that provide the authority for the Census Bureau to conduct their work and that provide strong protections to individuals and businesses who complete Census Bureau surveys. These laws are compiled in Title 13 of the United States Code.
Title 13 provides the following protections to individuals and businesses:
Title 44
To support historical research, Title 44 of the U.S. Code allows the National Archives and Records Administration to release census records only after 72 years. Once released, these census records are used extensively by historians and genealogists in their research endeavors.