A New Attempt To Count Americans Of MENA Descent In California

A new California Assembly bill would require state departments, agencies and commissions that collect demographic data to include an ethnic category for Californians of Middle East and North African descent.

Proponents say that AB 2763, known as the California MENA Inclusion Act (MENA stands for Middle East-North Africa) will help state public agencies better serve a population that for now continues to be categorized as “white” on census and other forms.

“It’s important because the Middle East-North African group has a very, very different experience than their white counterparts,” said Amin Nash, a policy and research coordinator for the Arab American Civic Council in Anaheim, an advocacy nonprofit.

“They are perceived different, they have different health stressors, they have different traumas,” said Nash, who is Iraqi American. “A lot the times when organizations, health agencies try to collect data about the Middle East-North African group, they don’t have accurate information.”

According to the bill, a category for MENA respondents would be included on state forms that offer racial or ethnic designations; the data would be included in state demographic reports.

The bill was introduced in mid-February by Assemblymember Bill Essayli, a Republican from Riverside County who is Lebanese American. Essayli said in a statement that the bill “will ensure that state agencies and legislators will have the necessary data to make informed decisions about policy priorities and resource allocation.”

The California bill comes after years of similar efforts, including a failed attempt to include a MENA category in the 2020 census.

That plan was nixed by the Trump administration. However, the 2020 census did allow a write-in response area to the “white” racial category, which yielded a glimpse, if incomplete, of how the nation’s MENA population breaks down.

The U.S. Census Bureau’s analysis of those responses found that more than 3.5 million people self-identified as being of MENA descent, either alone or in combination with another group. The largest self-identified national origin groups were Lebanese, Iranian and Egyptian. And the state with the largest MENA population is California, with a self-identified MENA population of more than 740,000.

Southern California is home to long-established enclaves like Anaheim’s Little Arabia and Westwood’s Iranian American community, known lovingly as Tehrangeles. The California bill’s broader definition of MENA also includes several “major transnational” groups, including Armenians; Los Angeles, Glendale and Burbank have some of the region’s largest Armenian populations.

Advocates for MENA recognition have continued to push for an accurate count. The Biden administration has revived the possibility of a MENA category for the 2030 census, along with other proposed changes. And last year, the governor of Illinois signed a data collection bill similar to the one being proposed in California.

The California bill is expected to be heard in an Assembly committee next month.