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EXPLAINER - What's Big Deal About Adding Citizenship Question to US Census?

Reuters

   U.S. President Donald Trump is making a last-ditch push to add a
   citizenship question to the 2020 U.S. Census, despite a Supreme Court
   ruling against it last month and criticism by some states and civil
   liberties groups that the question is meant to deter immigrants from
   participating and help Republicans gain seats in the U.S. Congress.

   What is the census used for?

   The once-per-decade survey is mandated by the U.S. Constitution. Its
   results have major consequences for states.

   Census data is used to determine the number of congressional
   representatives for each state, and dictates how the federal government
   allocates more than $800 billion in funding for services such as
   schools and law enforcement.

   Why did the Trump administration want to add the question?

   A question about citizenship has not been asked of all households since
   the 1950 census. It has featured since then on questionnaires sent to a
   smaller subset of the population.

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