A new law, AB 91<\/a>, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 6 will require state agencies in California that collect demographic data on ethnic origin to create a separate category for the Middle Easterners and North Africans or MENA starting January 1, 2028.<\/p>\n \u201cCalifornia is home to a thriving MENA community that has too often been undercounted and underrepresented,\u201d said Democrat Assemblymember John Harabedian, an Armenian American legislator who introduced the bill, in an Oct. 6 news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen our community is overlooked they lose resources, voice, and influence. We cannot wait any longer to be recognized. California must lead on MENA recognition, fight for accurate data, and set the standard for inclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n [Read: Casting a Light on the Hidden Inequities in OC\u2019s Middle Eastern Community<\/a>]<\/p>\n Basha Jamil, policy manager for Council on American Islamic Relations\u2019 greater LA chapter, said the new law could mean more critical resources directed to the MENA community.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would impact our communities\u2019 access to state resources and make sure that funding and different programs actually come to the communities that actually need them,\u201d she said in a Wednesday phone interview.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s building the foundation for even better policies and protections for our communities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Jamil added the data will help civil rights advocacy groups like CAIR to better serve the community by better understanding how the community is facing discrimination in the public school system or how they are targeted for surveillance<\/a>.<\/p>\n She also said had that data been collected prior to 2020 Middle Eastern business owners would have been able to access more government financial assistance and loans during the pandemic.<\/p>\n Jamil said the data will also help legislators and elected officials develop public policy.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that lawmakers will be able to create policies that are actually tailored to the needs of their communities whether that\u2019s related to public health, to education, even things like emergency disaster relief,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just good policy to make sure that we\u2019re actually counting all Californians.\u201d<\/p>\n Counting MENA: New Law\u2019s Impact on OC<\/p>\n Nash said it might not be until 2029 when government agencies start making use of the data and that the sooner they implement the new law, the better understanding officials will have on a community of hundreds of thousands people in the state.<\/p>\n \u201cThe big impact is down the line that information from them checking a simple box will give agencies that don\u2019t really know too much about the Middle East and African population more of an idea of the needs of the community,\u201d Nash said.\u00a0<\/p>\n He adds it was a low budget community effort in Orange County that helped create the statewide change.<\/p>\n The new law comes on the heels of local efforts to understand what health disparities and government funding gaps are facing the community.<\/p>\n A host of local organizations that specialize in either charity, advocacy or health and supportive services launched a collective in 2023 with help from a CDC grant to address health inequities and quality of life issues in the South Asian, Middle Eastern and North African communities in Orange County.<\/p>\n [Read: Tackling Health Gaps in OC\u2019s South Asian, Middle Eastern and North African Communities<\/a>]<\/p>\n The MENA community encompasses Arabs, North Africans, Sudanese, Djiboutians, Mauritanians, Somalians, Kurdish, Amazigh, Berber, Chaldean, Circassian, Assyrians, Turks, Iranians, Afghans, and Armenians.<\/p>\n There are roughly about 32,000 Iranian Americans, about 30,000 Arab Americans and 6,000 Armenian Americans in Orange County, according to American Community Survey<\/a> data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau.\u00a0<\/p>\n Calls For Data \u2013 A Continued Demand For Visibility<\/p>\n For years, OC\u2019s Middle Eastern & North African leaders have fought for this data collection, arguing that without it their communities are overlooked by federal and state agencies when it comes to funding resources for health care access, education and business grants.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last year, the California MENA Inclusion Act<\/a>, a similar bill to Harabedian\u2019s introduced by former Assemblyman Bill Essayli, a Republican, ended up getting suspended by the State Assembly Appropriations Committee amid budgetary concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n But local advocates ran into political roadblocks in Sacramento.<\/p>\n Nash said politics is what kept now-federal prosecutor Essayli\u2019s bill from passing last year \u2013 leading to ramped up education efforts by advocates in Orange County to help it move along this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBill Essayli \u2013 he\u2019s not liked up there. We had to learn Sacramento is primarily Democrats and we needed a good Democratic Representative so the big change from last year and this year was changing the author,\u201d Nash said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really wanted a community to be involved and that was a big difference that we made compared to the year before \u2013 going directly to the community and educating them how to get involved and how to prepare them.\u201d<\/p>\n Jamil said the bill got bipartisan support this year.<\/p>\n The push for more data hasn\u2019t just been at the state level.<\/p>\n The 2030 U.S. census will include a MENA category for the first time after decades of advocacy by Middle Eastern and North African American leaders across the country.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CityCouncil-SANTAANA-2025_May-Leopo-7.jpg\")
Basha Jamil, Council on American Islamic Relations \u2013 Greater Los Angeles, speaks to reporters on May 21, 2025. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AP_6930.jpg\")
Families gather during Ramadan in a restaurant located in Little Arabia on April 22, 2021. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Taylor_AccessCalifornia_Anaheim_Aug2024_11.jpg\")
Shops within the Little Arabia District on Aug. 2, 2024. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2024_September_Little-Arabia-Freeway-Signs.jpg\")
Cookies inspired by the new Little Arabia freeway sign were available for those that attended the unveiling ceremony on September 19, 2024. Credit: FASHION CASTILLO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n