WASHINGTON Ñ The dramatic increase in Muslim immigration from the Middle East since 1970 could change
U.S. policy toward the region, a new report said.
More than 30 years ago,Muslims comprised only 15 percent of Middle
East immigration, according to a new report by the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies.
Entitled "Immigrants from the Middle East: A Profile of the Foreign-born
Population from Pakistan to Morocco," the report said that in 1970, 15
percent of immigrants from Iran, Israel and Arab countries were Muslims. By
2000, an estimated 73 percent, or 1.1 million, of all Middle Eastern
immigrants were Muslim.
Overall, the report said, the size of the Middle East immigrant
population will reach 3.4 million by 2010. This includes 950,000 children
born in the United States of those immigrants, according to Middle East Newsline.
"As their numbers grow, their impact will increase, especially in such
areas as U.S. foreign policy toward the Arab-Israeli conflict where many
have keen interest," the report said.
Authored by Steven Camarota, the report said 1.1 million Middle East
immigrants are expected to arrive in the United States over the next decade.
These include legal and illegal immigrants.
"While certainly large, [this] is in no way a break with the past," the
report said. "If anything, it suggests slower growth in the population than
has been the case for the last 30 years."
The center said despite economic and social pressures immigration from
Arab countries, immigration from Israel and Iran are expected to be slightly
lower over the next decade. The report acknowledged an increase in Middle
East immigration over the last two years but said the rate of arrival is 64
percent of that during the 1980s.
Middle East immigrants will comprise no more than nine percent of the up
to 15 million immigrants expected to settle in the United States until 2010,
the report said. The figures are dependent on the maintenance of current
U.S. immigration policy.
Middle Easterners are said to be one of the fastest growing immigrant
groups in the United States. The Middle East immigrant community has grown
seven-fold since 1970 Ñ from less than 200,000 in 1970 to nearly 1.5
million in 2000. In contrast, the size of the overall immigrant population
has only tripled.
U.S. officials said interest in coming to the United States remains very
strong in the Middle East. Even after the Al Qaida attacks on Sept. 11, 2001
the State Department received some 1.5 million applications from the region
for the visa lottery, which awards 50,000 green cards to those who win a
random drawing.
The report broke down immigration from Middle East countries. It said 40
percent of all immigrants from the Middle East are from Arab countries.
"No Arab country sends as many immigrants to the United States as Iran,
Pakistan, or Israel," the report said. "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."
The center said Iran, Pakistan, Israel, Iraq, Bangladesh, Turkey, Egypt,
Lebanon are leading suppliers of immigrants to United States. Illegal
immigrants are led by Pakistan, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Bangladesh, Israel,
Egypt, Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Morocco, Afghanistan, Turkey, Iraq and Algeria.
The report said Israeli immigration to the United States has been
reduced. Israel once ranked third in the number of immigrants sent to the
United States. Over the last decade, Israel was ranked seventh. Israeli
immigrants will progressively become a smaller share of the total Mideast
population in the United States, the report said.
The center said pressures for migration from the Middle East will
continue to be as high as during the last decade. The report cited political
and religious oppression as well as corruption as incentives to leave the
region. Moreover, unemployment in the Middle East will also push young
people to leave for the United States.
The Al Qaida attacks and the rising anti-Muslim sentiment in the United
States will not have a significant affect on immigration from the Middle
East. The report said many people from the region have been waiting years to
join family members already in the United States.
"The political freedoms and economic opportunities in United States
remain very attractive to a significant share of the world's population,
including those in the Middle East," the report said. "Moreover, the largest
effect on immigration from the region will likely be on those seeking
short-term or 'nonimmigrant' visas, such as tourists and students who may be
less likely to come."
The center does not advocate a crackdown on Middle East immigration. But
it appeared to support a vigorous policy to pursue illegal immigration by
Middle East nationals over the short term.
"As a long-term policy, however, this would be both unfair and perhaps
even unconstitutional," the report said. "The law should be enforced for
all, not just those from one part of the world. Whatever immigration
policies are adopted in the future, we must avoid calls to single out
Mideast immigrants."
The report did does not study what it termed "patriotic assimilation."
In other words, the report acknowledged that it kept away from the question
of whether Middle Eastern immigrants and their children see themselves as
firstly Americans or identify primarily with their native lands. The report
cited the lack of such data by U.S. Census Bureau surveys.
"Are Middle Eastern immigrants or immigrants in general coming to see
America's history as their history?" the report asked. "We cannot say from
these data. Moreover, assimilation is a two-way street. Do native-born
Americans view Middle Easterners as their fellow countrymen?"
