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ABC News - December 04, 2003
Arab Population in U.S. Nearly Doubles
The Arab population in the United States has nearly doubled in the past two decades, according to the Census Bureau's first report on the group.
The bureau counted nearly 1.2 million Arabs in the United States in 2000, compared with 860,000 in 1990 and 610,000 in 1980. About 60 percent trace their ancestry to three countries: Lebanon, Syria and Egypt.
While earlier Arab immigrants came from countries with large Christian populations, newer arrivals come from heavily Muslim countries such as Iraq and Yemen.
Almost half of the Arabs in the United States live in five states, California (190,890), New York (120,370), Michigan (115,284), New Jersey (71,770) and Florida (77,461).
New York City, the first stop for millions of immigrants for more than a century, had the largest Arab population among U.S. cities, 69,985. Dearborn, where many Arabs first settled to work in the automobile industry, was next at 29,181.
Billboards and storefronts bearing Arabic greetings remind motorists driving into Dearborn that about a third of the city's residents identify themselves as Arab or Arab-American.
Sterling Heights, Mich., was the city with the largest percentage of Arab-Americans, 3.7 percent, followed by Jersey City, N.J., with 2.8 percent. Dearborn was not ranked because the Census Bureau only counted cities with at least 100,000 residents; Dearborn has about 98,000.
The bureau asked those who received the long version of their decennial questionnaire to list their ancestry. The form was sent to about one-sixth of all households.
Arab-Americans say their population is larger than that reported, but many are reluctant to fill out government forms because they came from countries with oppressive regimes.
The Arab American Institute Foundation said that just over 15,000 visas were issued to immigrants from Arab countries in 2002, compared with more than 21,000 in 2001.
The backlash that occurred against Arab Americans following Sept. 11 served to draw them closer and get more involved in politics. The concentration of Arab-Americans in a few key election states, particularly Michigan, also has boosted their political influence.
In October, seven of the eight Democratic presidential candidates attended the Arab American Institute's national leadership conference in Dearborn, as did the heads of the Democratic and Republican parties.
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1203/112639.html
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