Yemeni-American
| Total population | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| New York, Michigan, Virginia, Illinois, California | |
| Languages | |
| Yemeni Arabic, American English | |
| Religion | |
| Mostly Islam, also a minority practicing Judaism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Arabs |
Yemeni Americans are Americans of Yemeni ancestry. According to an estimate of 2010, more than 20,000 Yemenis live in the United States.
Although it is unknown when Yemenis first arrived, it is believed that Yemenis were immigrating to the U.S. after 1869, and are recorded in the 1890s. Some Yemenis gained U.S. citizenship by fighting in World War I and World War II. Yemenis immigrants settled in existing Lebanese communities in cities like New York. They were outcast as Muslims, as the Lebanese communities were predominantly Christian, as were Syrian and Palestinian communities. After becoming situated, many Yemenis traveled westward for better job opportunities. In many places of United States, such as Chicago, Brooklyn (New York), and South Dearborn (Michigan), the first Yemeni entrepreneurs were owners of cafes and liquor stores. However, these companies are not characteristic of Yemeni culture, and it is likely that they have been owners of cafes under the influence of Lebanese and Palestinian communities longer. Many Yemeni-Americans also worked in factories in the Midwest in the cities of Detroit MI, Canton OH, Weirton WV, and Buffalo NY and on farms in the San Joaquin Valley in California. During the Great Depression of 1929 and until 1945, end of World War II, Yemeni immigration to United States slowed dramatically. Immigration then increased afterward. In 1945, many Yemenis immigrated to the United States from Vietnam, where many Yemenis had worked in warehouses, shops, and on the docks. Many Yemeni immigrants had held the status of being illiterate. Because of this, they could bypass regulations and were admitted. When in 1965 the quota system for immigration was eliminated, Yemenis could more easily gain visas to reside in and gain employment in the United States. This prompted a great increase in the numbers of Yemeni immigrants. Another feature of Yemeni immigrants in the U.S. is that in the years of immigration that occurred to 1970, nearly all immigrants from Yemen were adult males.
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