A number of ethnic and ethnoreligious groups in West Asia and North Africa that lived in majority Arab countries and are now resident in the United States are not always classified as Arabs but some may claim an Arab identity or a dual Arab/non-Arab identity; they include Assyrians, Jews (in particular Mizrahi Jews, some Sephardi Jews), Copts, Kurds, Iraqi Turkmens, Mandeans, Circassians, Shabaki, Armenians, Greeks, Italians, Yazidis, Persians, Kawliya/Romani, Syrian Turkmens, Berbers, and Nubians.

The remainder are made up of those from Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Iraq, Libya, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and other Arab nations.

Also, the counties which contained the greatest proportions of Arab Americans were in California, Michigan, New York, Florida, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

Arab Christians, especially from Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, and Egypt, continued to immigrate to the US in the 2000s and form new enclaves and communities across the country.

After the September 11 attacks, some Arab Jews in New York City were subjected to arrest and detention because they were suspected to be Islamist terrorists.

[72] In 2012, prompted in part by post-9/11 discrimination, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee petitioned the Department of Commerce's Minority Business Development Agency to designate the MENA populations as a minority/disadvantaged community.

The expert groups, including some Jewish organizations, felt that the earlier white designation no longer accurately represents MENA identity, so they lobbied for a distinct categorization.

[77] In the 2015 National Content Test (NCT) for the 2020 Census, the sampling strata for the new MENA category includes the Census Bureau's working classification of 19 MENA groups, as well as Sudanese, Djiboutian, Somali, Mauritanian, Armenian, Cypriot, Afghan, Iranian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian groups.

[82] Paterson, New Jersey has been nicknamed Little Ramallah and contains a neighborhood with the same name, with an Arab American population estimated as high as 20,000 in 2015.

[73] Neighboring Clifton, New Jersey, is following in Paterson's footsteps, with rapidly growing Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian American populations.

However, a number of prominent Arab American politicians are Republicans, including former Oregon Governor Victor Atiyeh, former New Hampshire Senator John E. Sununu, and California Congressman Darrell Issa, who was the driving force behind the state's 2003 recall election that removed Democratic Governor Gray Davis from office.

The first woman Supreme Court Chief Justice in Florida, Rosemary Barkett, who is of Syrian descent, is known for her dedication to progressive values.

According to a 2000 Zogby poll, 52% of Arab Americans were anti-abortion, 74% support the death penalty, 76% were in favor of stricter gun control, and 86% wanted to see an independent Palestinian state.

[90][91][92] Other smaller communities include Assyrians, Amazigh/Berber, Turks, Mandeans, Circassians, Shabaks, Georgians, Yazidis, Balochs, Iranians, Azerbaijanis, and Kawliya/Roma.

The US Department of State has recognized April as the National Arab American Heritage Month, making it the highest level of federal recognition, yet.

Most notably the petition and social change campaign by Pierre Subeh, who is a Middle-Eastern American business expert, executive producer, and author.

There were more than 40,000 attendees over the two-day event; more than 35 international singers, dancers, and musicians from all over the Arab World performed 20 hours of live entertainment on stage.

Activities included folklore shows, an international food court, hookah lounge, kids rides and booth vendors, open to the public, and admission was free.

[102] The Annual Arab American Day Festival is a three-day cultural and entertainment event held in Orange County.

Activities include book and folk art exhibitions, speeches from community leaders in the county, as well as music and poetry, dancing singing, traditional food, hookah and much more.

The festival features live entertainment, belly dancing, hookah rental, camel rides, cooking demonstrations, a children's area, and Arab cuisine.