Proposed Middle Eastern census category makes some uneasy

Arabian or Israeli, and ethnic affiliations such as Berber or Kurdish. The new form would go to Congress for final approval in 2018 in time for the 2020 Census.

The move comes after more than 30 years of lobbying, but also at a time of rising Islamophobia and calls by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to ban people from Muslim lands. Some are questioning whether the new designation could lead to profiling or otherwise put them in danger.

The proposed addition would create a race and ethnicity category called MENA for people with roots in the Middle East and North Africa. It has been championed by organizations representing Arab Americans and others with roots in the geographical swath from Iran to Morocco, who complain of being ignored in the decennial count.

The region comprises a jumble of ethnic and racial categories, including people who identify as white or black, Arab or Aryan.

To many, counting people with roots in majority-Muslim countries feels like a double-edged sword.

“If this helps provide some hard data, it’s useful,” said Ibrahim Hoop- er, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “But unfortunately in today’s environment, we have to have concerns about the possible misuse of this data. We’ve had too many problems in the post9/11 era when the American government singles out Arab Americans or Muslim Americans for profiling.”

A public comment period will end Oct. 31.

“This is a big deal,” said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. “The last time they did anything like this was with Hispanics before the 1980 Census.”