Watchdog: Trump Administration 'Poisoning' Census With Question on Citizenship

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - A decision to ask residents in the United States whether or not they are US citizens in the 2020 Census reflects Trump administration bias against immigrant communities, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in a press release on Tuesday.

"Trump is poisoning the Census with bias" the release said. "This decision is just the latest in the Trump administration’s attacks on immigrant communities and other vulnerable populations."

On Monday, the Commerce Department announced that the next decennial US Census will include a question on whether residents are US citizens for the first time since 1950.

The 14th amendment to the US Constitution mandates that the Census count the "whole number of persons in each state," the release explained.

The citizenship question threatens to undermine the tally’s goal by intimidating citizens and non-citizens alike from participating in a process which directly affects their lives, the release said.

Census data is used to determine US states’ representation in the House of Representatives and the distribution of federal funds to state and local governments. Meanwhile, the Trump administration maintains that citizenship data is needed to enforce US voting rights laws.