Categorizations of race and ethnicity have changed since webegan conducting the U.S. Census (which occurs every ten years andhas many purposes). White and Negro were early categories, buttoday Americans can choose from multiple categories, includingNative American, Inuit, Hispanic, Asian and so on. And, you canchoose more than one ethnic/racial category, reflecting themultiracial character of the population. In December 2013, theCensus Bureau at the request of the White House proposed adding anew racial category to the 2020 Census for people from the MiddleEast and North Africa (MENA) who have until this point beenclassified as “white.” An article in The Washington Post(https://www.washingtonnpost.com/local/socialissues/a-proposal-to-add-a-us-census-category-for-people-of-middle-eastern-descent-makes-some-uneasy/2016expressed alarm that this classification comes at a time of risingIslamophobia. Since the article appeared we have seen attempts toexclude individuals from selected predominantly Muslim countriesfrom coming to the United States. Similarly, we have seen increaseddeportations of Hispanic immigrants (putting aside the question oftheir legal status). In fact, a decision about whether to deport“the Dreamers,” who are the children of immigrants who came to thiscountry when they were children is pending in the Congress. TheCensus is an attempt to quantify and categorize who lives in theUnited States and has legitimate goals. Some activist groups,however, see potential problems if individuals provide thisinformation asking will those who identify themselves as MENA (orHispanic, Latino, Chicano) be profiled and placed undersurveillance. Based on what we have discussed on racism,persecution of “the other,” and even historical examples, such asthe Holocaust, what is your opinion of this proposed change to theCensus? Using your sociological imagination, examine the politicaland social context and the implications of this change forindividuals.