Crossword Genius

Reportedly become aware of American count (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

census

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'count' is the definition.
(I know that census is a kind of count)

'reportedly become aware of american' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'american' could be 'us' (United States) and 'us' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'cens' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for census that I've seen before include "Official body count?" , "Periodical population count" , "Periodic count as of population" , "Periodic count by statisticians" , "Head-count" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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