Push and Pull Factors of Migration

Arabs have been migrating to the United States since the early 20th century. By 1924, there were approximately 200,000 Arabs living in the country, the vast majority of whom came from the Ottoman province then known as Greater Syria (including present-day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine). While some of these earlier Arabs, who were predominantly Christians, came to America to escape religious persecution in the Ottoman Empire, most came for economic opportunities. That is, pull factors outweighed push factors driving Arab migration. Although there was a drastic decrease in immigration to the U.S. between 1924 and 1965 due to restrictions and quotas, after the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act in 1965 approximately 400,000 Arabs moved to America between the 1970s and 1990s. During this period, push factors largely drove migration, as many of these newer immigrants, like several of our narrators, were displaced by conflicts such as the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza after the 1967 Six-Day War, the 1975-1990 Lebanese Civil War, and the 1990-91 Gulf War. Many Arabs who came to the U.S. during this period (now also including Muslims) were students and professionals seeking new educational and job opportunities no longer available at home. Since the 1990s, political violence, civil wars, and economic difficulties have increased Arab migration to the U.S. from countries like Iraq, Egypt, and Syria. While for many Mawtini narrators, exile from their homeland was not always voluntary, expected, or even desired, all have chosen to make California, and specifically San Luis Obispo, their new home of choice.