"The News Reports about the Department of Commerce dropping its quest to put the Citizenship Question on the Census is incorrect or, to state it differently, FAKE! We are absolutely moving forward, as we must, because of the importance of the answer to this question", Trump said via Twitter.
The News Reports about the Department of Commerce dropping its quest to put the Citizenship Question on the Census is incorrect or, to state it differently, FAKE! We are absolutely moving forward, as we must, because of the importance of the answer to this question.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2019
Trump said last week that he asked his lawyers to delay the US census after the Supreme Court effectively blocked the administration from adding a citizenship question.
The Justice Department confirmed later, cited by the US-based media, that the 2020 Census printer has been instructed to begin the printing process without the citizenship question.
US Congressman Ted Lieu in a Wednesday tweet said a Justice Department email had confirmed that the census forms are being printed without the citizenship question because the department told the Supreme Court yesterday was the deadline. Lieu then asked Trump if he wants the Justice Department to "lie again".
The US Constitution requires a census every 10 years to count every person in the United States, including citizens and non-citizens.
The census is used to allocate funding for various federal programs and to apportion representation in Congress, the Electoral College, and within state legislatures.
