The Commerce Department has reinstated a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, a move some argue can be counterproductive to getting accurate counts of who lives in the United States.
The U.S. Census Bureau counts the total number of people in the country — not the total number of citizens — every 10 years. Though it usually doesn't ask about a person's citizenship status, the Justice Department asked the agency late last year to include the question.
The Census count is used to redraw congressional districts, so it can affect the makeup of Congress.
In a statement released Monday night, the Commerce Department said the question was being added to help enforce the Voting Rights Act and pointed out that previous Census surveys before 1950 consistently asked citizenship questions.
Critics were quick to blast the department's justification, saying the move was designed to undercount immigrants and minorities.
In recent weeks, congressional lawmakers, mayors and civil rights activists have ramped up efforts to urge federal officials to reject the question and have called on Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to turn down the request.
“This is not the time to parachute in and try to throw something in at the last minute, particularly something so incendiary that is likely to impact people’s willingness to participate," said Terry Ao Minnis, director of Census and Voting Programs at Asian Americans Advancing Justice.
Minnis and other opponents say adding the question is unnecessary and will lead to an inaccurate count because some people may be afraid to fill out the form.
