'We must know how many illegal aliens America has'

Trump arrives with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Attorney General William Barr to speak about the 2020 census in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, on Thursday. Pic/AP/PTI

Washington: US President Donald Trump has announced that his administration was "not backing down" in the fight to know how many citizens and non-citizens were in America, at a time when the country is increasingly divided over the immigration issue.

Previously, the White House had fought to include a question on citizenship in the 2020 census, which was subsequently blocked by the Supreme Court, Xinhua news agency reported. In the days before Trump's Thursday's announcement, rumors swirled in the press that Trump would fight the Supreme Court's decision.

In a speech at the White House, Trump said due to litigation and opposition, the US administration would not push for the inclusion of the question in the decennial census.

However, he issued an executive order to have every government department collect data on how many citizens and non-citizens are living inside the US. The departments would then have to hand over all information to the US Department of Commerce.

"We will defend the right of the American people to know" how many citizens are in the US," the President said. We must know "how many illegal aliens" are in the United States, he added.

'Immigration can't be solved single-handed'

No single nation can cope with migration flows unaided and the "complex phenomenon" must be managed at European level, Italy's Premier Giuseppe Conte said. "Immigration is a complex phenomenon that no one can claim to solve single-handed," Conte said.

Every person in US has rights: Pelosi

The speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, said that Trump's threats to round-up and deport undocumented immigrants are meant to sow fear in Latino communities. "Families belong together. Every person in America has rights," the California Democrat told a press conference on Capitol Hill. "These families are hard-working members of our communities and our country."

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