The U.S. Census Bureau is currently contemplating a standalone Middle-Eastern American box that may appear on the forthcoming 2020 U.S. Census application. The new classification would allow Americans with ties to the Middle East and North Africa, currently classified as white under Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to identify as Middle-Eastern American. The proposed reform, and shape and language of the classification, have not been finalized, and are currently undergoing internal testing and discussion.
If adopted, the new classification will undo the longstanding position that Arab-Americans, Iranian-Americans, and an array of other groups with ties to the region are white by law. For Arab-Americans specifically, the proposed box – if implemented – would overrule decisions from two seminal cases that found Syrian Christians to be white in 1915, and Arab Muslims white 29 years later. These prerequisite cases seeded the modern classification of Arab-Americans as white, despite escalating state and societal suspicion of Arab-Americans through the 1990’s. Which unraveled into broad surveillance, racial and religious profiling, and violence following the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
Fourteen years after 9/11, Arab and Middle Eastern Americans still find themselves interlocked between an existential and legal paradox: per se classification as white, but pervasive recognition as non-white and policing as other. While grassroots and organizational efforts pushing for reform of the status quo long precede the 9/11 attacks, the proposed Middle Eastern American box also poses concerns. Particularly during the revved up “War on Terror” Era, whereby novel policing programs are being introduced and standing initiatives enhanced.
Why Now? Is a question that arises with regard to the timing of the proposed reform. One possibility is that more precise Middle-Eastern American data would enhance the effectiveness of state surveillance and policing programs. This state interest, particularly with growing fear of domestic radicalization and (countering) violent extremism, makes the present an optimal juncture for reform. Therefore, a moment of perceived racial progress for Arab and Middle-Eastern Americans converges with the broader national security interests of the state.
Closer inspection of Middle-Eastern American communities also reveals that many elements within it are opposed to the reform. In other words, many are content with, or embrace the benefits, associated with being classified as white. Therefore, Middle-Eastern American communities that differ with regard to politics, socioeconomic standing, and most saliently, religion, will likely identify differently. The demonization of Islam and its conflation with terrorism, in particular, has enhanced the sense of minority status among Muslim Middle-Eastern Americans; while Christianity functions as a clear point of distinction from "Middle Eastern terrorism" for Christian Middle-Eastern Americans. In turn, highlighting that faith may very well be a principal point of racial division.
With five years before the decennial Census, the proposed Middle-Eastern American box will certainly generate much debate within impacted communities and stakeholders. A critical conversation that, for communities boxed in by surveillance and suspicion, must weigh the looming risks with the beneficial consequences.
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