Jeff Sessions Told DOJ Not To Discuss Citizenship Question Alternatives

The Trump administration is fending off six lawsuits across the country over a citizenship question that was added to the 2020 census for, officials insist, one primary reason — to get better data on who in the country is and isn't a U.S. citizen.

Last December, the Justice Department sent a letter to the Census Bureau asking for the hotly contested question to be included on forms for the upcoming national head count. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who oversees the census, ultimately responded in March by approving plans to add the question.

But days after the Census Bureau received the Justice Department's request, its staff concluded that collecting people's self-reported information through the census would not be the best way to generate better citizenship data. Instead,, would not only produce more accurate information but also cost less money.