WASHINGTON -- The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is calling on Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to justify his agency’s controversial decision to include a citizenship question on the 2020 U.S. Census, a move members say would result in an inaccurate population count.

In a press conference Wednesday, San Antonio Rep. Joaquin Castro, first vice president of the caucus, accused the Trump Administration of including the question in order to intimidate immigrants living in the country illegally from participating in the census.

Now, the group’s members say they are formally requesting a meeting with Ross and want assurances that the addition of the question is not politically motivated.

Starting soon: @HispanicCaucus press conference on the Administration’s decision to add a new question on citizenship in the #2020census. Watch here: https://t.co/uT4PfAgqly — Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) April 11, 2018

“The Census is a cornerstone of our democracy and we firmly believe the recent actions by the Department will have immense repercussions,” the letter said. “We request that you meet with us to discuss this issue further and ensure a full and inclusive account of our population."

Castro said he’s concerned that the question would intimidate undocumented immigrants and lead them to not participate, skewing results. The Trump administration announced last month that it would add the controversial question to the census, which takes place every 10 years.

“This question, especially from this administration, which has been so hostile to immigrants, and also in many ways the Latino community, is meant as an act of political intimidation,” Castro said. “This will make it much less likely that we’ll get full and complete answers from so many people.”

The population count, taken by mail and by workers going door to door, is required by the Constitution and includes citizens and non-citizens. It's used to determine the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as how federal funds are distributed to local communities. In turn, it helps those communities determine where to build everything from schools and grocery stores to hospitals.

Democratic lawmakers in both the House and Senate have requested similar meetings on the census. Four senators called on the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to hold a hearing, and Maryland Rep. Elijah Commings called for a similar hearing by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

In a memo released last month, Ross said the citizenship question is needed to "provide complete and accurate data." The Department of Commerce announced the decision on March 26.

“The question is no additional imposition since census responses by law may only be used anonymously and for statistical purposes,” Ross wrote. The question would ask, “Is this person a citizen of the United States,” according to the Census Bureau.

The Commerce Department said there's historical precedent for including the question, noting that between 1820 and 1950, "almost every decennial census asked about citizenship in some form."

But Castro said he’s concerned that fears among immigrants will result in an undercount in population data, which would affect funding for states.

“Texas stands to lose billions of dollars and its cities will lose a lot of money because this will scare people away from answering the census,” he said, adding that it could also reduce representation in Congress.

A 2017 study by Election Data Services Inc. found that Texas is among a handful of states expected to gain congressional seats after the 2020 census. According to the study, Texas could pick up as many as three.

“I believe this will cost Texas at least one congressional seat after the next census in the new round of redistricting that follows,” Castro said.

Meanwhile, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz praised the announcement last month, calling it a “commonsense addition” to gather accurate data on the number of U.S. citizens living in the country. The Republican and other Texas leaders -- including Attorney General Ken Paxton -- requested the change.

I applaud @SecretaryRoss for honoring our request. It is imperative that the data gathered in the census is reliable, given the impacts it will have on U.S. policy. A question on citizenship is a reasonable and commonsense addition to the census. --> https://t.co/WsUq3XXI3B — Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) March 27, 2018

“It is imperative that the data gathered in the census is reliable, given the wide-ranging impacts it will have on U.S. policy,” Cruz said in a joint statement with GOP Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma.

Legislative efforts

Some Democrats have moved forward with legislation to keep the Census Bureau from including a citizenship question, but they’re unlikely to garner much support in the GOP-controlled Congress.

New York Rep. José Serrano, a Democrat and dean of the Hispanic Caucus, said he’s working on an amendment in the Appropriations Committee to prevent funds from being used to include citizenship questions on the census.

“It’ll be a fight,” Serrano, the ranking member of the sub-committee that oversees the budget of the Census Bureau, said.

I have been actively denouncing @realDonaldTrump's Administrations decision to add a citizenship question to the #2020Census & will be joining my @HispanicCaucus colleagues to discuss this pressing issue at 12:30, watch here: https://t.co/BviwQxdDUh — José E. Serrano (@RepJoseSerrano) April 11, 2018

Serrano is a co-sponsor of New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney's measure known as the "2020 Census Improving Data and Enhanced Accuracy Act." The bill would prohibit late untested changes or questions that "introduce great risk to the accuracy, cost, and public participation" of the census, according to a press release from Maloney. The measure is backed by Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Senate Democrats have introduced similar legislation in response to the citizenship question. Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz, along with seven other senators, authored a measure that would require that proposed changes to the census be studied and tested.