"Those standards were last revised in 2024 during the Biden administration, after Census Bureau research and public discussion. A White House agency at the time approved, among other changes, new checkboxes for "Middle Eastern or North African" and "Hispanic or Latino" under a reformatted question that asks survey participants: "What is your race and/or ethnicity?" The revisions also require the federal government to stop automatically categorizing people who identify with Middle Eastern or North African groups as white."
""We're still at the very beginning of a review. And this, again, is not prejudging any particular outcome. I think we just wanted to be able to take a look at the process and decide where we wanted to end up on a number of these questions," said Mark Calabria. "I've certainly heard a wide range of views within the administration. So it's just premature to say where we'll end up.""
Supporters of the 2024 racial and ethnic categories warn that last-minute modifications could reduce accuracy of census and statistics used for redrawing voting districts, enforcing civil rights, and guiding policymaking. The 2024 revisions added checkboxes for "Middle Eastern or North African" and "Hispanic or Latino" and required the federal government to stop automatically categorizing people who identify as Middle Eastern or North African as white. The Office of Management and Budget has opened a review of those standards and the approval process. Chief statistician Mark Calabria said the review is at an early stage and not predetermined. Calabria signaled consideration of not using the latest categories.
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