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Azerbaijani Americans

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Azerbaijani Americans United States
Regions with significant populations
State of New York, New Jersey, California, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, Illinois, Florida, Massachusetts, Washington DC, Arizona, New Mexico, Michigan, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Nevada, North Dakota, Tennessee, Georgia, Minnesota and other[1]
Languages
American English, Azerbaijani, Russian, Persian, Turkish
Religion
Predominately Muslim

Azerbaijani Americans (used interchangeably with the term Azeri-Americans) are Americans of ethnic Azerbaijani origin, or who were born in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani-Americans are mostly coming from the Republic of Azerbaijan, Iran,[3][4][5] Russia and Turkey.

Demographics

According to the 2000 U.S. census, an estimated 14,205 Azerbaijani-Americans, who were born in the Republic of Azerbaijan, lived in the United States, of which 5,553 were U.S. citizens.[6][2] Census 2000 did not count Azerbaijani-Americans born in other countries aside from Azerbaijan. The results of the Census 2010, anticipated to be fully released by the end of 2011, will yield more precise figures on the ethnic groups in the United States.

It is documented that ethnic communities in U.S. are undercounted by censuses. The case of the Azerbaijani Americans is no exception, as unofficial and semi-official estimates show they are more numerous in the United States than census 2000 data indicated, being a victim of undercount, due to either poor participation, assimilation or misclassification.[7][8][9] According to research done by U.S. government, private and independent academic, media and nonprofit organizations, including the Voice of America (VOA)[10], Arlington County of Virginia,[11] Eurasianet[12], Washington University in St. Louis School of Law[13], University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA)[14], U.S. Census Bureau's partner organization such as the U.S. Azeris Network[15] as well as numerous articles in the U.S. press[16][17] and independent researchers[18], the number of Azerbaijani Americans living in the United States is at least 400,000 in 2004, with the population estimates ranging from 300,000[19] to up to 500,000.[20]

History

The earliest Azerbaijani immigrants to the United States came to Staten Island in the early 20th century, with Merza Ali Akbar arriving on the Mauretania ship to Ellis Island on June 7, 1912.[21] The first large wave of immigrants came during and right after World War II as they left the western zones of Germany for the United States in the 1940s and early 1950s. There is also a small number of surviving refugees who fled their homeland in 1920 after the demise of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. The post-1920 refugees first settled in Turkey and Iran, then came to the United States for economic reasons in 1950s and 1960s.[22]

Both groups settled in New York City (the largest number of Azerbaijanis in the U.S.), Northern New Jersey, and Massachusetts; and more recently in Florida, Texas and California (esp. the Los Angeles area). By 1980 there were around 200 families in the United States that still identified themselves as Azerbaijani, with about 80% of them being endogamic.[22]

Current state

By the late 1990's, the Azerbaijani-Americans became more active in the socio-political life of U.S., including on federal level in the Congress.[23][24] In 2004, a group of Congressmen founded the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives.[25]

Naturalization from Azerbaijan since Census 2000

According to the Department of Homeland Security, in 2001-2010, a total of 9,391 people from the Republic of Azerbaijan were naturalized as U.S. citizens. This official government statistics does not include the Green Card holders (Legal Permanent Residents), who numbered 781 in 2010[26], the refugees, legal non-immigrant aliens (temporary visitors on visas) who numbered 4,938 in 2009, as well as a very large number of ethnic Azerbaijanis born in other countries, such as Iran, Russia, and Turkey. This brings the estimated total of the Azerbaijani-American U.S. Citizens born in the Republic of Azerbaijan to approximately 14,944, and the total number of Azerbaijani-Americans born in Azerbaijan and residing in U.S. according to Census 2000 and naturalization data from DHS to approximately 24,377 (minus natural decline).

Year U.S. Citizens
2001 946
2002 1,187
2003 886 [27]
2004 793 [28]
2005 904 [29]
2006 997 [30]
2007 606 [31]
2008 834 [32]
2009 1,005 [33]
2010 1,233 [34]

See also

References

  1. ^ List of proclamations received from mayors and governors around U.S. by Azerbaijani-Americans
  2. ^ a b U.S. Census Bureau. Table FBP-1. Profile of Selected Demographic and Social Characteristics: 2000. Population Universe: People Born in Azerbaijan. Geographic Area: UNITED STATES (Retrieved 2011-06-23.)
  3. ^ Touraj Atabaki, Sanjyot Mehendale. Central Asia and the Caucasus: transnationalism and diaspora, Psychology Press, 2005, p. 102
  4. ^ Shirin Hakimzadeh, Iran: A Vast Diaspora Abroad and Millions of Refugees at Home, Migration Policy Institute, September 2006 (Retrieved 2011-06-23.)
  5. ^ James S. Kessler, Iranians, The Encyclopedia of Chicago, 2004 (Retrieved 2011-06-23.)
  6. ^ First, Second, and Total Responses to the Ancestry Question by Detailed Ancestry Code: 2000. This number includes both primary and secondary ancestry. (Retrieved 2009-01-23.)
  7. ^ Reasons Behind Inaccuracies in the Census, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights/The Leadership Conference Education Fund, 2011 (Retrieved 2011-06-23.)
  8. ^ KPCC - Southern California Public Radio, State officials say census undercounts California by 1.5 million, Dec. 31, 2010 (Retrieved 2011-06-23.)
  9. ^ NY1 News and Time Warner Cable, Making Census Of It: Brooklyn Officials Claim 2010 Census Undercounted Borough, 06/12/2011 (Retrieved 2011-06-23.)
  10. ^ Voice of America, US Azerbaijanis Work to Keep Traditions Alive, 24 October 2006
  11. ^ Proclamation from the County Board of Arlington, Virginia, October 18, 2008
  12. ^ Eurasianet, Azerbaijan: Diaspora Organization Tries to Counter Armenian-American Influence in Washington, May 7, 2009
  13. ^ Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, Presentation on Azerbaijan, October 2004
  14. ^ The Daily Bruin, Azerbaijan deserves U.S. public attention, October 22, 2006
  15. ^ Current 2010 Census Partners, Census Bureau (Retrieved 2011-06-23.)
  16. ^ Fuquay-Varina Independent, Muslims celebrate national holiday, May 28, 2010
  17. ^ St. Louis American, Obama, recognize us, March 9, 2011
  18. ^ Baku, Azerbaijan, Jews and The Klionskys, by Michael “Misha” Sapozhnikov, Fair Lawn, New Jersey
  19. ^ Prof. Paul Goble, AZERBAIJANIS OUTSIDE OF AZERBAIJAN: EMIGRES, DIASPORAS AND NATIONAL MINORITIES, AZERBAIJAN IN THE WORLD, ADA Biweekly Newsletter, Vol. 1, No. 2, February 15, 2008, p. 7
  20. ^ Voice of America, US Azerbaijanis Work to Keep Traditions Alive, 24 October 2006
  21. ^ Ellis Island Passenger Record, The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation (Retrieved 2011-06-23.)
  22. ^ a b Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups by Stephan Thernstrom, Ann Orlov, et al. Harvard University Press: 1980. p. 171. ISBN 0674375122
  23. ^ Cheney, Richard B., "Defending Liberty in a Global Economy" in: Economic casualties: how U.S. foreign policy undermines trade, growth, and liberty. / edited by Solveig Singleton, Daniel T. Griswold, CATO Institute, Washington DC, 1999, p. 24.
  24. ^ Perlmutter, Philip. The dynamics of American ethnic, religious, and racial group life: an interdisciplinary overview, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996, p. 66
  25. ^ [1]
  26. ^ U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Legal Permanent Residents from Azerbaijan in 2010
  27. ^ U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Naturalized U.S. citizens from Azerbaijan in 2003
  28. ^ U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Naturalized U.S. citizens from Azerbaijan in 2004
  29. ^ U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Naturalized U.S. citizens from Azerbaijan in 2005
  30. ^ U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Naturalized U.S. citizens from Azerbaijan in 2006
  31. ^ U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Naturalized U.S. citizens from Azerbaijan in 2007
  32. ^ U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Naturalized U.S. citizens from Azerbaijan in 2008
  33. ^ U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Naturalized U.S. citizens from Azerbaijan in 2009
  34. ^ U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Naturalized U.S. citizens from Azerbaijan in 2010
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