OnImmigration

Although thought to be a recent event, MENA migration to the U.S dates back to the 16th century, with the enslaved black Moroccan and adventurer, ‘Estevanico’ Mostafa Al-Azemmouri, the first African to step foot in modern-day Texas.

The ending of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act which held a strict national-origins quota system favoring migration from Western Europe brought on a wave of MENA immigration to the U.S that lasted until 1990. Motivating factors for this migration include war in Lebanon and economic crises in Egypt, Morocco, and Yemen.

*Important to note, however, that there may be inaccuracies with this data as many early Arabs in America had to identify as “White” in order to gain access to American citizenship.