Immigration

Immigration form the Middle east:

http://www.cis.org/articles/2002/back902.html

Camarota, Steven. "Immigrants form the Middle East."//Center for Immigration Studies//. N.p., August 2002. Web. 31 May 2010. .

Notes:

After 9/11, there has been an increased interest in Middle Eastern Immigration. Based on the analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies of just-released data from the Census Bureau, this //Backgrounder//, is one of the first to examine the characteristics of Middle Eastern Immigrants in a systematic way. For the purposes of this study, the Middle East is defined as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Turkey, the Levant, The Arabian Peninsula, and Arab North Africa.

The Findings:
 * Middle Easterners are one of the fastest growing immigrant groups in America
 * The INS last estimated that 150,000, or about 10 percent, of Middle Eastern immigrants are illegal aliens.
 * Assuming no change in U.S. immigration policy, 1.1 million new immigrants form the Middle East are projected to settle in the United States by 2010, and the total Middle Eastern immigration population will grow to about 2.5 million
 * In 1970, an estimated 15 percent of immigrants form the region were MUslim; the rest were mostly Christians form Lebanon. By 2000, an estimated 73 percent of all Middle Eastern immigrants were Muslim
 * Middle Eastern Immigrants are one of the most educated groups in America. In 2000, 49 percent had at least a bachelors degree, compared to 28 percent of natives
 * There is little evidence of job discrimination in the job market against the group. Median earnings in 2000 for Middle Eastern men were 39,000, slightly higher than the 38,000 average for native workers.
 * A significant share of Middle Easterners are poor and make use of America's welfare system. In 2000, nearly one in five Middle Eastern Immigrants and their young children lived in poverty, compared to about one in 10 natives; 23 percent used at least one major welfare program, compared to only 15 percent natives
 * California has the largest Middle Eastern population, with nearly 400,000. Of states with the most Middle Eastern immigrants, Virginia has the fastest growing population, followed by Texas, Michigan, and New York.
 * While only 10 percent of immigrants are self-employed compared to 11 percent of natives, 19 percent of Middle Eastern immigrants own their own businesses.

In 1970, fewer than 200,000 Middle Easterners lived in the United States. By 2000 the number had grown 650 percent to nearly 1.5 million. Just since 1990, the Middle Eastern population has grown by 80 percent. However, these figures do not include the 570,000 U.S. born children (under 18) who have at least one parent born in the Middle East. Nor do they include the grandchild, great grandchild, or even longer descendants of immigrants from that part of the world.
 * Historical Perspective:**

Immigrants from the MIddle East are not a homogenous (alike, same) group. One of the most important aspects of this diversity is religion. While the Mideast itself is overwhelmingly Muslim, historically this has not been true of immigrants to the United States form that part of the world. For much of this century, the vast majority of Middle Easterners in the United States were Christians, Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks, Chaldeans, and a small number of Jews fleeing predominately Muslim countries.
 * A Growing Muslim Share:**

In 1970, there were approximately 160,000 non-Muslim immigrants from the Mideast in the UNited States and by 2000 there were almost 400,000. The non-Muslim immigrant population from the region, therefore, grew two and one-half times over the 30 years.

The table shows that 40 percent of all immigrants from that part of the world are from Arab countries, but no Arab country sends as many immigrants to the United States as Iran, Pakistan, or Israel. Of course, it should be kept in mind that many immigrants from Arab countries are not Arabs, such as Armenians, Greeks, Chaldeans, Assyrians, and Jews. However, at least one-fourth of immigrants from Israel are Arabs. Overall, the table shows that Arabs do make up a large share of the Middle Eastern immigrant population in the United States.
 * Countries:**



The INS estimates of the size of the illegal Middle Eastern population in the United States by country. It shows that approximately 150,000 people from the Middle East resided in the United States illegally in 1996
 * Illegal Immigration from the Middle East:**

Table 3 shows the states with the largest Middle Eastern immigrant populations in the country. California and New York are by far the leading states. Together, those two states account for 43 percent of the total foreign-born population from the Middle East in the United States. Middle Eastern immigrants live in all major regions of the country. In the West they are found mostly in California. In the Southwest, Texas has a substantial population, and Virginia and Florida are the leading states in the Southeast. In the Northeast, New York and New Jersey are the states with the largest Mideast populations, and in the Midwest, Michigan and Illinois both have a significant number of immigrants from the Middle East.
 * Middle Eastern Immigrants by State:**

Table 4 again lists the states with the largest number of Middle Eastern immigrants, but it also shows the top three Middle Eastern sending countries for each state.

Figure 2 reports the educational attainment for adult immigrants from the Middle East in comparison to all immigrants and to natives. Education levels are important because there is no better single predictor of how someone will do in the labor market than their education level. This also shows that in contrast to immigrants in general, those form the Middle East tend to be more educated than natives. While a very large share of immigrants overall are high school dropouts, those from the Middle East are only slightly more likely to be dropouts than natives.
 * Education:**

While there are not an many immigrants form Latin America, the Caribbean, or East Asia, the Middle East has become a significant source of immigrants to the United States. **
 * Conclusion:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

I used this website to learn about modern day immigration, especially about citizenship,

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=a2ec6811264a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=a2ec6811264a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD

"Citizenship." //U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services//. N.p., 09/10/2009. Web. 31 May 2010. 

