In March 2024, the U.S. Census officially adopted a Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Category for inclusion in the 2030 Census, with an Iranian subcategory as well. While securing this category after decades of advocacy and research is indeed a significant win, ensuring full and proper implementation of the category is the most urgent and essential next step in this process. Thankfully, the American Community Survey (ACS), the lead data collection mechanism of the Census Bureau, put forth its proposed implementation plan for all of the changes adopted for the upcoming 2030 Census, including the MENA category. The plan itself includes a deadline for implementation in 2027, along with some potential experimental surveying techniques to produce a limited set of data products earlier than 2027 in order to prepare the most detailed and accurate data in the years leading up to the 2030 Census. This provides an opportunity to prepare for the formal data collection process by experimenting how communities, including MENA, respond to the annual American Community Survey and, ultimately, the 2030 Census.
NIAC submitted a public comment detailing the history of our work on this issue as well as direct feedback on the proposed implementation plan. The comment is included below:
Census Public Comment MENA Category ImplementationBack to top