Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y. (center) speaks outside Manhattan federal court in 2018 with other critics of the citizenship question the Trump administration wants to add to the 2020 census. Hansi Lo Wang/NPR hide caption
Tracking The Census: The People, Power And Money Behind The Data NPR's Hansi Lo Wang reports on the under-the-radar decisions and controversies about how the U.S. will be counted for the 2020 census.
Special Series
Tracking The Census: The People, Power And Money Behind The Data
NPR's Hansi Lo Wang reports on how the 2020 census will count every person living in the U.S.
From left to right, Tommy Shiels, Dennis Hayden, John Houlihan and Thomas Ring attend the New York Irish Center's weekly luncheon for seniors in Queens, N.Y. Many attendees say they support the 2020 census asking white people about their origins. Hansi Lo Wang/NPR hide caption
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross listens to President Trump at the White House in March. Ross' decision to add a question about U.S. citizenship status to the 2020 census sparked six lawsuits from dozens of states, cities and other groups that want the question removed. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
Officials at the U.S. Government Publishing Office, headquartered in Washington, D.C., showed a "high degree of disregard" for procedures in awarding the 2020 census contract to the bankrupt printing company Cenveo, the agency's Office of the Inspector General found. Samantha Clark/NPR hide caption
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who oversees the census, approved adding a controversial citizenship question to the 2020 census in March. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption
Steve Bannon, President Trump's former White House chief strategist, spoke with Wilbur Ross about adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census, according to a new court document. Sean Gallup/Getty Images hide caption
Commerce Secretary Now Recalls Discussing Citizenship Question With Steve Bannon
A postcard from the U.S. Census Bureau reminds recipients that responding to the census is required by law. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption
Wendy Becker (left) and Mary Norton of Providence, R.I., raise their hands after the 2006 Massachusetts court ruling that allowed same-sex couples from Rhode Island to marry in Massachusetts. For the 2020 census, the couple can choose the new response category for "same-sex husband/wife/spouse." Boston Globe/Getty Images hide caption
Mulusew Bekele, director of program operations at African Services Committee based in New York City, supports the U.S. Census Bureau's efforts to collect more detailed data on black people's non-Hispanic origins on the 2020 census. "The more refined data, the better for public policy," he says. Hansi Lo Wang/NPR hide caption
The U.S. Census Bureau says more research is needed before a separate category for people with roots in the Middle East or North Africa can be added to census forms. PeopleImages/Getty Images/iStockphoto hide caption