House Speaker Nancy Pelosi attacked US President Donald Trump on Monday, claiming that efforts to add a citizenship question in the 2020 census were a bid to "make America white again".
The issue has drawn criticism with several lawmakers claiming that the question may keep immigrants from turning in their census forms.
The Trump-government's proposed question asks "Is this person a citizen of the United States?" while giving respondents five options which range from being born in the US to being a naturalised US citizen.
"This is about keeping -- you know his hat -- make America white again," The Hill quoted Pelosi as saying while taking a jibe at Trump's popular campaign slogan "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) and the red MAGA caps which Trump supporters are often spotted wearing.
The American census, which is conducted every 10 years, is used to decide the seats every state is allocated in the US House of Representatives. An undercount of immigrants may adversely impact the representation of states like New York and California.
"They want to make sure that people, certain people, are counted. It is really disgraceful. And it ia not what our founders had in mind...What they want to do is put a chilling effect so certain populations will not answer the form," she added.
Even though the US Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration's argument regarding the case last month, the US President is considering an executive order for the inclusion of the question in the census.
( With inputs from ANI )