The Trump administration is not targeting illegal immigrants by asking citizenship questions on the 2020 census, but "the purpose is to determine individuals that are here," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday.
"This has been practice of the United States government," Sanders told reporters at the daily briefing. "It also helps to comply with the Voting Rights Act.
"It will determine the individuals in our country and provide information that allows us to comply with our own laws and with our own procedures," she said.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Monday that the 2020 census will add a question about citizenship status — bringing strong condemnation from Democrats, who say the move will intimidate immigrants and discourage them from participating.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra immediately filed a federal lawsuit Monday against the Trump administration, calling the action "not just a bad idea — it is illegal."
Becerra argued that states with large immigrant communities like California could lose House seats and electors in the Electoral College if the population was undercounted.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Tuesday that he would lead a multistate challenge to the administration's plan.
Demanding to know respondents' citizenship status "will create an environment of fear and distrust in immigrant communities that would make impossible both an accurate census and the fair distribution of federal tax dollars," he said.
Required by the Constitution, the census is taken every 10 years and is used to determine the number of seats each state has in the House as well as how federal money is distributed to local communities.
It also helps local jurisdictions determine where to build roads, schools, hospitals, grocery stores and more.
The 1965 Voting Rights Act protects minority voting rights.
Sanders said told reporters the citizenship question has been included in every census since 1965, except for in 2010.
However, the official Census form has not asked a citizenship question since 1950. It has been included on the American Community Survey, which is regularly sent to households throughout the year, and other Census Bureau surveys.
"We've had the question that's provided the data that's necessary for the Department of Justice to protect voters," she said. "This is something that's been part of this census for decades."
Sanders denied that fewer resources would be provided to immigrant communities that might be affected by the citizenship information from the census.
"No," she said. "We've seen this in practice before — and this is something that the Commerce Department feels should be part of the census."
Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
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