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.