WASHINGTON — Every 10 years, we ask you to stand up and be counted on the Census. And every year, we struggle with the fact that there is no category on the Census that makes sense for Arab Americans. For the first time ever, we are close to securing just that – an accurate count of our community.

There is currently no category that encompasses Arab Americans on the U.S. Census. This has led to a significant undercount of our community, creating barriers to many basic rights and services. The creation of a coherent ethnic category for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region will have a positive impact on the treatment and services available to members of our community. The undercounting of Arab Americans has served as a barrier to representation, education, health and employment. New and expanded data provided by the inclusion of a MENA checkbox on the 2020 Census is an important move to improve this drastic undercount.

After many years of work by many advocates, the U.S. Census Bureau has announced that it will be testing the MENA category for inclusion in the 2020 Census. This is a vitally important measure to correct the problematic undercount of our community. Now that the Census Bureau has officially announced its plans to test the category over the course of 2015, the Bureau is soliciting public opinions on the MENA category’s inclusion, and we need your voice. Support for the category during this phase is essential in ensuring the creation of the checkbox.

Please join our campaign to support the MENA category’s inclusion on the 2020 Census by commenting on the Federal Registrar notice now. The open comment period ends on February 1: Take Action Now.