Back when I was in college, people who checked the "Native American" box on their financial aid applications were more likely to receive aid than those who checked "White" or "Caucasian." And I don't consider it a lie, since, well, they WERE born here (making them native) in America (making them American.)
And a number of people with very white skin checked "African American" . . . since they had immigrated from either Rhodesia or the Republic of South AFRICA where they'd been born.
And that was over 40 years ago now.
IMHO as long as government is giving preferences to people based on something like skin color rather than behavior or performance, I see nothing wrong with manipulating the system. (And that even goes for people like Elizabeth "Pocohontas" Warren . . . at least, until she hypocritically condemns other people for doing what she did.)