page_title: History of the Middle Eastern people in Metro Detroit
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Middle Eastern people in Metro Detroit
caption_attribution_description: العربية: مطاعم ومتاجر عربية في شارع وورن (Warren Ave) في ديربورن English: Restaurants and shops in the Arab quarter along Warren Avenue in Dearborn
context_page_description: In 2004, Metro Detroit had one of the largest settlements of Middle Eastern people, including Jews, Chaldo-Assyrians, and Arabs, in the United States. As of 2007 about 300,000 people in Southeastern Michigan traced their descent from the Middle East. Dearborn's sizeable Arab community consists largely of Lebanese and many Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac 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 people of Middle Eastern origin, excluding Jews. Bobby Ghosh of TIME said that some estimates gave much larger numbers. From 1990 to 2000 the percentage of people speaking Arabic in the home increased by 106% in Wayne County, 99.5% in Macomb County, and 41% in Oakland County.
  From 1990 to 2000 Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties had a combined increase of 16,632 people who were born in Iraq. The publication "Arab, Chaldean, and Middle Eastern Children and Families in the Tri-County Area" of the From a Child's Perspective: Detroit Metropolitan Census 2000 Fact Sheets Series states that "Arab and Chaldean representation cannot be determined" in that figure.
context_section_description: In 2004, Metro Detroit had one of the largest settlements of Middle Eastern people, including Jews, Chaldo-Assyrians, and Arabs, in the United States. As of 2007 about 300,000 people in Southeastern Michigan traced their descent from the Middle East. Dearborn's sizeable Arab community consists largely of Lebanese and many Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac 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 people of Middle Eastern origin, excluding Jews. Bobby Ghosh of TIME said that some estimates gave much larger numbers. From 1990 to 2000 the percentage of people speaking Arabic in the home increased by 106% in Wayne County, 99.5% in Macomb County, and 41% in Oakland County.
  From 1990 to 2000 Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties had a combined increase of 16,632 people who were born in Iraq. The publication "Arab, Chaldean, and Middle Eastern Children and Families in the Tri-County Area" of the From a Child's Perspective: Detroit Metropolitan Census 2000 Fact Sheets Series states that "Arab and Chaldean representation cannot be determined" in that figure. During the same period there was an increase of 7,229 people born in Lebanon. The Iraqi community in Metro Detroit supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
caption: Arab-owned businesses in Dearborn, Michigan
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