# Why is there such a large population of Arab-Americans in Michigan? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 29, 2024, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-such-a-large-population-of-arab-americans-in-michigan/1004951 "2024-07-29T13:46:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-such-a-large-population-of-arab-americans-in-michigan/1004951/1 "2024-07-29T13:46:29Z")
Apparently, Michigan has the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the USA. I know people tend to settle near others who are similar, but why Michigan specifically? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-such-a-large-population-of-arab-americans-in-michigan/1004951/2 "2024-07-29T13:50:05Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > but why Michigan specifically? The Ford plant, if I’m reading things correctly. Let me find a cite. ETA, from Michigan’s wiki page > [Dearborn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dearborn,_Michigan) has a sizeable [Arab American](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Americans) community, with many [Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac_Americans), and [Lebanese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanese_Americans) who immigrated for jobs in the auto industry in the 1920s, along with more recent [Yemenis] > ([Yemeni Americans - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemeni_American)) and [Iraqis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_Americans) From the wiki [footnote](https://archive.org/details/contemporaryethn0000unse/page/320): [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/0cmRuXw.png "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/0cmRuXw) ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-such-a-large-population-of-arab-americans-in-michigan/1004951/3 "2024-07-29T13:53:39Z")
The auto industry in general drove many people to come to Detroit for good paying jobs. You might as well ask why so many black people came up from the south to live in Detroit, people follow the good paying jobs. But also, Detroit is just across the border from Canada. So imigrants families can settle in both places and be near each other. Depending on the political climate at the time one country may be easier to immigrate to, which would allow familes to be reloacted near each other. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-such-a-large-population-of-arab-americans-in-michigan/1004951/4 "2024-07-29T14:24:49Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > You might as well ask why so many black people came up from the south to live in Detroit, people follow the good paying jobs. That was a whole thing by itself, with its own historic driving factors. Jobs were part of it, but not all of it: > **[Great Migration (African American)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Migration_(African_American))** > > The Great Migration, sometimes known as the Great Northward Migration or the Black Migration, was the movement of six million African Americans out of the rural Southern United States to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West between 1910 and 1970. It was substantially caused by poor economic and social conditions due to prevalent racial segregation and discrimination in the Southern states where Jim Crow laws were upheld. In particular, continued lynchings motivated a portion of the mi From ... From the article: > Between 1910 and 1930, the African-American population increased by about 40% in Northern states as a result of the migration, mostly in the major cities. The cities of [Philadelphia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia), [Detroit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit), [Chicago](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago), [Cleveland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland), [Baltimore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_African_Americans_in_Baltimore), and [New York City](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City) had some of the biggest increases in the early part of the twentieth century. Tens of thousands of Black workers were recruited for industrial jobs, such as positions related to the expansion of the [Pennsylvania Railroad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Railroad). > [@Joey\_P](#): > > ETA, from Michigan’s wiki page There is a Wikipedia page that specifically addresses the OP’s question: > **[History of the Middle Eastern people in Metro Detroit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Middle_Eastern_people_in_Metro_Detroit)** > > The Detroit metropolitan area has one of the largest concentrations of people of Middle Eastern origin, including Arabs and Chaldo-Assyrians in the United States. As of 2007 about 300,000 people in Southeast Michigan traced their descent from the Middle East. Dearborn's sizeable Arab community consists largely of Lebanese people who immigrated for jobs in the auto industry in the 1920s, and of more recent Yemenis and Iraqis. In 2010 the four Metro Detroit counties had at least 200,000 pe From 1... ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-such-a-large-population-of-arab-americans-in-michigan/1004951/5 "2024-07-29T19:10:12Z")
Here in North Olmsted, Ohio there has been a an influx of Middle Eastern people in the past 10 years. They are easy to spot since the women wear head coverings. We now have 3 Middle Eastern food markets and a jewelry store plus several others in a small area. Many younger ladies have found jobs in stores. Many are well off since Mercedes are a favorite car. I really don’t know why this has occurred. > **[North Olmsted Blooms as a Hub for Cleveland's Palestinian Diaspora](https://www.clevescene.com/news/north-olmsted-blooms-as-a-hub-for-clevelands-palestinian-diaspora-43929839)** > > The vast majority of new businesses on Brookpark Extension Road are owned by Palestinian Americans ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-such-a-large-population-of-arab-americans-in-michigan/1004951/6 "2024-07-29T19:23:55Z")
It seems like if it was just migration for jobs, then there would be a variety of similar groups of migrants from around the world. I would think that migrants from lots of different countries would come for the same jobs that the Arab migrants would be coming for. Was there something special about auto jobs that appealed to Arab immigrants but not to immigrants from other countries? Is there some reason that the immigration would be unequally appealing for Arabs rather than being more evenly distributed among worldwide immigrants? ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-such-a-large-population-of-arab-americans-in-michigan/1004951/7 "2024-07-29T19:45:17Z")
This article discusses why. > **[A brief history of Dearborn, Michigan – the first Arab-American majority city...](https://theconversation.com/a-brief-history-of-dearborn-michigan-the-first-arab-american-majority-city-in-the-us-216700)** > > The city often becomes a magnet for anti-Arab sentiment during election years and global conflicts; however, the more interesting story is what happens in the city when the spotlight is turned off. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-such-a-large-population-of-arab-americans-in-michigan/1004951/8 "2024-07-31T20:12:06Z")
What about Minneapolis? Why them? IIRC they have a large middle eastern population too? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-such-a-large-population-of-arab-americans-in-michigan/1004951/9 "2024-07-31T22:43:43Z")
Middle Eastern or Hmong? Wisconsin has a large population of Hmong people. IIRC, it’s related to the Vietnam war ending. It wouldn’t surprise me if Minnesota does as well. ETA > **[History of the Hmong in Minneapolis–Saint Paul](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Hmong_in_Minneapolis%E2%80%93Saint_Paul)** > > The Hmong people are a major ethnic group in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area. As of 2000, there were 40,707 ethnic Hmong in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The 2010 U.S. Census stated there were 66,000 ethnic Hmong in Minneapolis-St. Paul, giving it the largest urban Hmong population in the world. Grit Grigoleit, author of "Coming Home? The Integration of Hmong Refugees from Wat Tham Krabok, Thailand, into American Society," wrote that the Minneapolis-St. Paul area "acted as the cultural and The... ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-such-a-large-population-of-arab-americans-in-michigan/1004951/10 "2024-07-31T22:50:07Z")
Unfortunately, a lot of refugees are brought to the States to be fresh meat (no pun intended) in the slaughterhouse industry, because they don’t know about things like workplace safety and labor laws, and they leave for much greener pastures when they find out. It’s not just Third World refugees, either; I had a contract job in Waterloo, Iowa in the late 1990s, when large numbers of Bosnians were brought here, and I’ve heard about cities “hosting” Venezuelans. Prior to those wars or economic collapse, many of them had lifestyles similar to those in America - as in, they knew how to use electricity and flush toilets. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-such-a-large-population-of-arab-americans-in-michigan/1004951/11 "2024-07-31T23:04:34Z")
In addition it was a humanitarian effort on the part of churches helping assist refugees with housing and jobs/ training, enrolling the kids in school > **[5 Times in U.S. History When Christians Advocated for Refugees and Immigrants](https://worldrelief.org/5-times-in-u-s-history-when-christians-advocated-for-refugees-and-immigrants-3/)** > > This year, the number of displaced people reached 100 million. That includes refugees, asylum seekers, and 53.2 million people displaced within their home