Phoenix • Phoenix officials have agreed to join other cities around the county seeking to drop a question about American citizenship from the 2020 U.S. Census.

The City Council voted 7-2 Tuesday to include the city in one of the lawsuits filed against the federal government by either New York or California.

Phoenix officials say there are at least 213,000 non-citizens living in what is now the United States’ fifth largest city. They say fear keeping non-citizens from participating in the Census could mean a loss of federal dollars.

The Phoenix City Attorney is deciding which case to join.

Authorities say the U.S. government’s decision to include the citizenship question could hurt Arizona more than most states because of its large number of immigrants.