1. “I would never answer, because I don’t have papers.”

So said an undocumented mother in California, responding to the news that the 2020 census will include a question about citizenship. Above, a naturalization ceremony in Los Angeles last week.

The Trump administration says the data will help monitor voter demographics and protect minority voting rights. But critics say it will lead to a severe undercount of immigrant communities. Several states, including California and New York, said they would sue over the decision.

Here’s why an accurate census is so important. Political representation, state and federal funding and business and public health decisions all depend on it.