美国商务部宣布2020年美国人口普查将会包含一个关于公民身份的问题。
Democrats have criticized the decision, saying it will cause fear in immigrants and prevent them from responding.
民主党人批评了这一决定，称这将会导致移民恐惧，并妨碍他们做出反馈。
The U.S. Census takes a population count every 10 years, and not just because the Constitution requires it. The results have several important uses. They decide the number of seats each state gets in the House of Representatives. And they decide how the federal government divides money for local communities.
美国每10年进行一次人口统计，这不仅仅是宪法的要求。统计结果有几项重要用途。它决定每个州可以获得的众议院席位数量，以及联邦政府如何为当地社区分配资金。
Census information also helps communities choose places to build things like schools, food markets and hospitals.
人口普查信息还有助于社区选址建设学校、菜市场和医院等。
Several state attorneys general urged the Commerce Department last month not to add the question. They said it could lower participation among immigrants and cause population numbers to appear lower than they are.
几个州的总检察长上个月督促商务部不要增加这个问题。他们表示，这可能会降低移民的参与度，并导致人口数量被低估。
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the state will take the Trump administration to court over the decision. He said the state is prepared to do what it can to protect California from an incomplete census.
加州总检察长哈维尔·贝塞拉（Xavier Becerra）表示，该州将会对川普政府的这一决定提起诉讼。他表示，该州准备尽其所能防止加州人口普查的不完整。
"Including a citizenship question on the 2020 census is not just a bad idea — it is illegal," Becerra said.
贝塞拉表示：“在2020年人口普查中包含公民身份问题不仅仅是个馊主意，它还违法啦。”
The Democratic leader of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, said Tuesday that adding such a question would cause fear and distrust in defenseless communities. She said it would worsen the lack of representation of some communities, and that those communities would be left out financially.
众议院民主党领袖南希·佩洛西（Nancy Pelosi）周二表示，增加这样一个问题会在毫无防备的社区中造成恐惧和不信任。她说，这会使一些社区缺乏代表性的情况更加恶化，而且这类社区在经济上将会被忽略。
Several Republican lawmakers have praised the Commerce Department's decision. Among them is Texas Senator Ted Cruz. In a statement Tuesday, Cruz and the two other lawmakers said that it is important that census information is reliable because it strongly affects U.S. policy. Cruz added that, "a question on citizenship is a reasonable, commonsense addition to the census."
几位共和党议员赞扬了商务部的决定，其中就包括德州参议员特德·克鲁兹（Ted Cruz）。克鲁兹及另外两位议员周二在一份声明中表示，普查信息的可靠非常重要，因为它强烈影响到美国的政策。克鲁兹补充说，“公民身份问题是人口普查的合理补充。”
The Commerce Department said Monday that citizenship information will help the Justice Department enforce the Voting Rights Act. The law protects minority voting rights. It was signed into law in 1965. The department also said that between 1820 and 1950, almost every census asked some type of citizenship question.
商务部周一表示，公民信息将会有助于美国司法部执行《投票权法案》。该法案保护少数族裔的投票权，它是在1965年签署成为法律。该部门还表示，1820到1950年期间，几乎每一次人口普查都会问某种公民身份问题。
But many civil rights groups and other groups say the Justice Department is wrong in its claim that the citizenship question is needed to enforce the Voting Rights Act.
但是很多公民权利等团体表示，司法部声称公民身份问题是执行《公民权法案》所需，这种说法是错误的。
One-hundred seventy groups wrote a letter to Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross in January, shortly after the Justice Department proposed adding the question. The groups said the Justice Department has "never needed to add this new question to...the census to enforce the Voting Rights Act before, so there is no reason it would need to do so now."
一月份在司法部提出增加这个问题后不久，有一百七十个团体给商务部部长威尔伯·罗斯（Wilbur Ross）写了信。这些团体表示，司法部“以前从来没有将这个新问题增加到人口普查中以执行《投票权法案》的必要，所以现在也没有理由这样做。”
Census counts are taken in two ways: by mail and by workers walking around neighborhoods.
普查统计有两种方式：通过邮件或是社区工作人员。
The Census Bureau says that the 2010 census got a very high number of answers. About 74 percent of U.S. households mailed in forms. The other households were counted by workers in neighborhoods.
人口普查局表示，2010年人口普查的反馈率非常高。大约74%的美国家庭以邮寄形式参与，其它家庭则由社区工作人员统计。
I'm Alice Bryant.
我是爱丽丝·布莱恩特。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，禁止转载，违者必究！)