Salaita was born in Bluefield, West Virginia on September 15, 1975,[7] to immigrant parents. His mother was born and raised in Nicaragua by Palestinian parents who originated in Beit Jala.[8] He describes his own ethnic background as both Jordanian and Palestinian. An interviewer states that Salaita's father was from Madaba, Jordan.[9] His maternal grandmother lost her home in Ayn Karim outside of Jerusalem in 1948.[10]