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Census 2020: US adds controversial citizenship question | Census 2020: US adds controversial citizenship question |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The 2020 US Census will ask respondents whether or not they are US citizens for the first time since 1950. | |
California and New York vowed to sue to block the move, saying it will deter immigrants from participating. | |
Trump administration officials say the data will help the government allocate resources and enforce voter laws designed to prevent discrimination. | |
The census is mandated under the US constitution and takes place every 10 years, counting every resident. | |
What are political implications? | |
Critics say Republican administration aims to alter the political balance of power in legislative maps. | |
Census data helps the US government calculate funding distribution and draw up districts for state and local elections. | |
Democratic states with large immigrant populations argue a citizenship question will produce undercounts because fewer people will participate. | |
They fear losing congressional and state legislature seats along with federal funding. | |
Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, told Reuters news agency the question exposed "xenophobic and anti-immigrant policy positions from [the Trump] administration". | |
What does Trump administration say? | |
The US Department of Commerce , which oversees the census, said on Monday night it had added the question after a request from the Department of Justice. | |
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the 1965 Voting Rights Act required a tally of citizens of voting age to ensure minority groups were not discriminated against. | |
He said even if the citizenship question had an effect on responses, "the value of more complete and accurate data derived from surveying the entire population outweighs such concerns". | |
Mr Ross' agency pointed out that other, smaller population surveys also ask respondents whether they are American citizens. | |
His agency has until the end of this month to submit a final list of 2020 census questions to Congress. | |
President Donald Trump has previously argued, without providing evidence, that millions of illegal immigrants voted in the 2016 presidential election. | |
What do critics say? | |
New York and California, which have large immigrant populations, are taking legal action to block the move. | |
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra applied early on Tuesday for a court to rule that such a census question would violate the US constitution. | |
He argued it would interfere with the US government's obligation to conduct a full count of the population. | |
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the citizenship question would "create an environment of fear and distrust in immigrant communities". | |
He also said it would "make impossible both an accurate Census and the fair distribution of federal tax dollars". | |
The top law enforcement officers of 19 states wrote to the commerce secretary in February to oppose the "tremendous harms" that they say the question would have. |