DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Commerce announced it would be adding a citizenship question to the census:

“This is a craven attack on our democracy and a transparent attempt to intimidate immigrant communities. The census is a constitutionally-mandated count of all U.S. residents, not a political tool for Donald Trump to push his agenda and disempower Latinos and other people of color. By adding a citizenship question, Trump and Republicans are not only stoking fear in an attempt to make immigrant communities invisible, but they are all but guaranteeing an inaccurate count that lays the groundwork for sustained racial gerrymandering and jeopardizes critical resources for communities across the country.

“That this administration would have the gall to cite the Voting Rights Act as their justification is an affront to the activists and citizens who have spent decades combatting exactly these sorts of suppression tactics.

“The American people don’t support the Trump-GOP agenda, and Republicans know the only way they can win elections is if they rig the system. Democrats will fight this attempt to undermine our democracy in Congress, in the courts, and at the ballot box.”