Despite the war in their origin country and Donald Trump’s tough rhetoric on illegal immigration, a group of Yemenis is hopeful to develop and build their businesses and careers in the United States (US). The consensus on the immigration bill seemed to have stalled as the legislative is currently focused on reviewing gun controls in a bid to make them stricter.

Many Yemeni immigrants are settled in the Detroit area probably because their Lebanese and Syrian counterparts had already settled in the region to become more prominent business people. The Yemenis are considered different from their Arab neighbors in terms of immigrating to the US. Arabs stringed along with their families while Yemeni immigrants came to the US alone with an objective to help those they left in Yemen.

A brief overview of the proposed Trump immigration laws could suggest that Yemeni immigrants may have it easy in future. The focus is on stricter screening immigration laws and a ban on chain immigration. As stated above, Arabs come along with their entire relatives hence benefited from chain immigration while Yemeni citizen immigrants came to the US with the hope of building a life for themselves and assist develop those they left behind.

A Yemeni’s Testimonial

Ibrahim Alhasbani, like generations of other Middle Eastern immigrants living in the Detroit suburbs of Dearborn fled war and came to America with dreams of prosperity in the “land of opportunities.” Ibrahim worked for others until he was capable of striking out on his own. With his own establishment called Qahwah House, he believes in a long-term future outside Yemen and seeks to bring some aspect of his native country into America. Qahwah House is a café that serves coffee which he procures from his family’s farm all the way from Yemen.

Alhasbani stated that in America, one could only build while in Yemen, one could only have memories. He added that he lives in America because that was the main thing for him to build and develop his career and help those he left home.

The Facts on Yemeni Immigration

For more than a century, especially since 1960, Yemenis have continued to trickle into the US. Their numbers have become stronger in recent years with their objective of planting stronger roots by opening upscale restaurants and cafes as well as running for political office. An outstanding concept is that the Yemeni establishments strive to make their culture the key part of their business scheme.