Five former directors of the Census Bureau, who served under presidents of both parties, told me they opposed the citizenship question and wrote a letter to Ross expressing their opposition, saying it would lead to an unfair and inaccurate total count. “It would be a horrendous problem for the Census Bureau and create all kind of controversies,” said Steve Murdock, who ran the census under George W. Bush. Ken Prewitt, who ran the census under Bill Clinton, said, “It is simply inconceivable to me there would not be a very high level of anxiety around that question.” Vincent Barabba, who ran the census under Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter, called the addition of the question “beyond comprehension at this point. It would be really bad.”