Senators, congresswoman from Michigan want Middle Eastern classification added to Census
DEARBORN, MI — Michigan’s two U.S. Senators and a congresswoman sent a letter this week to the U.S. Census Bureau supporting a proposal to add a Middle Eastern-North African classification to the nation’s decennial population count.
The Census Bureau is collecting feedback on a proposal to allow people of Middle Eastern North African descent to identify as such in the 2020 census.
Congress would have to approve the change before it could be added to the 2020 census.
The 2010 census questionnaire, under a question on race, included check boxes for black, white and various Asian, Hispanic and native American identities, but no specific option for Arab Americans have historically been counted by default as white.
Some have pushed for the addition to allow more political visibility and grant opportunities for Arab Americans.
And Democratic U.S. Sens. Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow, along with U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn), whose district includes a large Arab American population, support the proposal.
“This proposal would provide a more accurate picture of the demographic composition of the United States, which is critical to ensure the proper allocation of government resources,” they wrote in a letter to Census Bureau Director John Thompson.
“Excluding the MENA (Middle Eastern-North African) category has serious ramifications for members of these communities, many of whom live in the State of Michigan. For example, since the MENA community is not included in the Census they are not eligible for protection under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, which ensures the availability of foreign language ballots. Additional examples include researchers having difficulty conducting studies on health disparities without this critical information and challenges monitoring employment discrimination against Arab Americans without accurate count of the size and location of the population.”
The lawmakers pointed out vast gaps between estimates of the Arab American population developed by the federal government and by nonprofit groups.
“In Michigan, the Census estimates the population is at 191,600, while the Arab American Institute estimates that more than 500,000 Arab Americans call the state home,” they said in a statement publicizing the letter.
“This misrepresentation in population size has led to barriers for representation, employment, health and education.”
A pair of prominent Detroit-area Arab Americans weighed in on either side of the issue last week. More from the Associated Press here.
Source: www.mlive.com