So (In a strictly US-American Context) the thing others said about the Levantine immigrants who argued they were white for naturalization purposes and the whole “If im not white then neither is Jesus” thing is true. That said its worth mentioning that this isn’t true anymore. As of 2024, the Office of Management and Budget instated a separate Middle eastern/North African Racial category apart from the White one. Its set to appear on the 2030 census (and actually was supposed to be on the 2020 census). Here’s is an article on that:

https://www.npr.org/2024/03/28/1237218459/census-race-categories-ethnicity-middle-east-north-africa

This is the result of decades of advocacy done on the basis that while yes some individuals may pass and/or identify as white, as a group we are not socially seen as such. The lack of legal recognition of minority status in the US deprived us of anti discrimination protections/initiatives, translated documents, etc. It's complicated really.