U.S. census to check ‘citizenship’

The U.S. government announced on Monday that it would reintroduce a question about citizenship status in the questionnaire for the 2020 census.

The Commerce Department, which oversees the census, said the question will be added at the request of the Justice Department in order to help determine possible violations of the Voting Rights Act.

President Donald Trump has long claimed that millions of illegal immigrants voted in the 2016 presidential election, without providing proof.

The last time a question about citizenship was included in the census questionnaire was 1950.

Critics fear that asking people if they are U.S. citizens could discourage some minorities from taking part in the census, out of fear the information will be used against them.

Analysts estimate that the 2010 Census under-counted Latinos by 7,75,000 people.