By Kurt Metzger
Editor’s note: The Center continues a series of comments from Kurt Metzger of Data Driven Detroit on what the 2010 census results mean for Michigan today, and tomorrow. Metzger worked for the U.S. Census Bureau for 15 years and has been studying demographic data and issues in Michigan for three decades.
Immigration and diversity were among the topics discussed at the Immigration and Michigan’s Economic Future conference July 18 at Wayne State University.
Steve Tobocman, the key driver of the Global Detroit Initiative through NEI (see the detailed study at: http://neweconomyinitiative.cfsem.org/resources/research-library/global-detroit-study), was the prime organizer of the event. Global Detroit, through its initial work, has identified four strategic goals for the southeast Michigan region. They are:
* Make the region welcoming to the international community and immigrants.
* Attract international investment and businesses that create jobs.
* Strengthen, grow and revitalize neighborhoods in the city of Detroit and in the region’s core communities.
* Attract and retain international talent in the region.
The morning featured remarks, via video, from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, along with representatives from Detroit’s public, private and nonprofit sectors – Ken Cockrel (City Council), Dan Varner (Kellogg Foundation) and Peter Karmanos (Compuware).
Bloomberg caused a stir earlier this year when he said immigrants could save Detroit’s severe population loss on NBC-TV’s “Meet the Press.” He stressed the advantages of small businesses: “They provide flexible hours and are needed for large families, and they don’t feel the effects of automation in reducing the size of the work force the extent that bigger companies do.”
Varner said that immigrants can help Detroiters with the new education systems being implemented in the city. Cockrel said having an immigration master plan is a great idea for Detroit, but the city needs to concentrate the majority of its efforts on its current citizens. Karmanos, along with the other panelists, agreed society must shed the beliefs that immigrants lower wage averages and take jobs from Americans. “Clearly, without question from anybody… there is an incredibly strong correlation between high immigrant populations and economic wellbeing,” Varner said.
Gov. Rick Snyder took the podium in the afternoon and promoted the new Global Michigan initiative. This initiative has a number of components as committees are working to address the attraction of needed talent by Michigan companies, the retention of university graduates, improved pathways for small business investment, encourage more welcoming communities for all, licensing and credentialing highly skilled immigrants, connection between immigrant business investors with local economic development and export strategies, entrepreneurship, maximization of the EB-5 investor visa program, advocacy of the H1-B worker visa program and effective information communication strategies.
Immigrants have started many major, global companies and managed to stay successful, speakers said. Gov. Rick Snyder talked about how immigrants started companies such as Meijer, Masco and Google. “Immigrants bring cultural diversity and jobs; they are job creators,” said Snyder.
Data Driven Detroit (D3) is a strong proponent of an immigrant welcoming strategy, at both the state and local levels, as one component of economic and community redevelopment. An analysis of recent immigration trends
Figure 1: Persons Obtaining Legal Permanent Resident Status in the United States, 2001-10
shows us the major immigrant streams which are already transforming our landscape.
Figure 1 shows the number of immigrants who have received permanent legal status over the last 10 years and have chosen Michigan as their home.
In both 2002 and 2005 (the high point numerically), Michigan accounted for 2.1 percent of the nation’s immigrants – its highest shares. While 2003’s total was lowest in recent years, the nation’s number was low as well and Michigan accounted for 1.9 percent of the total. Michigan’s lowest share – 1.6 percent – came in 2008. By 2010, the share was back up to 1.8 percent.
The only Michigan region reported on by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the Detroit-Warren-Livonia metropolitan area. Figure 2 shows its immigration trend over the decade. The region’s share of state immigration has ranged from a low of 65.7 percent in 2002 to a high of 68.8 percent in 2007. Its most recent share was 68.3 percent in 2010.
Figure 2: Persons Obtaining Legal Permanent Resident Status in Detroit-Warren-Livonia MSA, 2001-10
Our final analysis looks at the major countries from which our immigrants have emigrated over the last three calendar years – 2008-2010. DHS does not report every country of origin, thus incorporating an ‘Unknown’ category. An analysis of the data finds that this represents less than one-half of one percent for both the state and region.
The following charts provide the top 13 countries of origin for immigrants entering the United States, Michigan and the Detroit metropolitan area. The top 13 countries of origin represent 63 percent of all Michigan immigrants and 56 percent of U.S immigrants.
Figure 3 summarizes the top countries of origin for the nation. Mexico is far and away the dominant contributor of new legal immigrants, outdistancing China by a margin of 2.3 to 1. Other countries contributing to the increasing Latino population of the nation are the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Colombia and El Salvador. Asian immigrants are represented in country rankings 2, 3 and 4, with India, China and the Phillipines. Vietnam, Korea and Pakistan also make the list.
Figure 3: Persons Obtaining Legal Permanent Resident Status in the United States, 2008-10
An analysis of state trends also finds India, Mexico and China in the top 5 countries of origin, but India ranks second and Mexico a relatively distant third. At the top of the heap, and well ahead of second place India, is Iraq (23rd nationally). The No. 1 distinction is primarily the result of the large Chaldean community in metropolitan Detroit, which has been responsible for establishing a number of agencies providing services to Iraqi refugees, primarily Chaldean, who have been fleeing the country due to religious persecution.
Metro Detroit accounts for 94 percent of new Iraqi residents in Michigan. The Middle East is also represented by Lebanon and Yemen (ranked 5th and 8th), neither of which comes in high nationally. In fact, Lebanon ranks 53rd and Yemen 63rd. While Michigan’s Asian connection includes the national leaders of the Phillipines, Pakistan, Korea and Vietnam, Bangladesh comes in a strong sixth, while ranking 17th nationally. The Bangladeshi population has found a principal home in Hamtramck and is beginning to redevelop neighboring blocks in the city of Detroit.
Mexico is the only Latino country to break into the top 13, with Canada contributed just over half its total. Finally, we must recognize the strong presence of Albania in the Michigan flows. While ranking 46th nationally, Albania ranks seventh in Michigan. As with Iraqis, 94 percent of Albania immigrants choose to live in the Detroit metropolitan area. In fact, an analysis of 2000 Census ancestry responses showed that Macomb County has the largest Albanian population of any county in the country.
Figure 4: Persons Obtaining Legal Permanent Resident Status in Michigan, 2008-10
A comparison of the top 13 countries for Michigan and the Detroit metropolitan area (Figure 5) shows a match on the first 11, though the order is mixed. Korea (14th in Detroit) and Vietnam (22nd in Detroit) are replaced by Romania (16th in Michigan) and the Ukraine (15th in Michigan). A thriving Eastern European community in metropolitan Detroit is often lost in the Latino/Asian/Arab/Chaldean discussions.
While the top 11 countries are the same for Michigan and the Detroit MSA, it is not just the order that varies. There is a wide variation in the share of immigrants who choose the Detroit metropolitan area as their home, as opposed to any of the other 77 counties in the state. Figure 6 shows that Iraq, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Albania and Yemen all have shares of 94 percent or more, while Mexico and China show a wide Michigan spread, as only 48 and 52 percent, respectively, of their emigrants come to the Detroit
Figure 5: Persons Obtaining Legal Permanent Resident Status in the Detroit MSA, 2008-10
area.
As Michigan and communities across the state begin to increase their efforts to attract immigrants, it is important that we recognize and reach out to those groups who have already discovered the attractions of Michigan. These are our ambassadors and represent some of the largest and most prosperous economies in the world. We need not reinvent the wheel. Rather, let us embrace the important role that immigrants have played in the past and continue to play in the present.
A coordinated strategy that recognizes and celebrates our current residents, while looking to attract new residents from other areas of the country and internationally, will be a winner for Michigan. In the end we
Figure 6: Percent of Michigan Immigrants Selecting the Detroit MSA by Country
must work toward building an inclusive set of programs and policies that serves to benefit all residents of our state.
3 Comments
The reason given for encouraging immigration is that immigrants, educated and others, are entrepreneurs who start businesses. What we want for Michigan is business and job creation.
What about the Michigan citizens? What about the high school and college students? Why is entrepreneurship not being taught across the board? Michigan students are not stupid. School boards and college regents are not stupid. Some high schools offer Junior Achievement (JA), as an after school club, which gives experience in entrepreneurship. Why not offer JA as a series of classes? What if 90, 95 % of high school students experienced JA instead of less than 1 % now? What if entrepreneurship was offered as freshman college classes? College graduates would less likely become employees than become entrepreneurs.
It seems that Michigan citizens are being shunted aside in favor of immigrants.
Perhaps we should be increasing taxes, so we habve the funds to properly educate our children. Perhaps we should be encouraging creativity and entrepreneurial ideas instead of teaching to regimented tests that enrich the testing industry, while bankrupting our school systems.
I could not agree more with both comments above. We need resources–driven by taxes revenues, because charity is not consistent revenue–to strengthen the educational system in high schools and in colleges with entrepreneurship education, training and mentoring. There are many Michigan citizens that cannot develop their businesses because they lack access to financing, networks, and resources that wealthy entrepreneurs organically bring with them. And people help and do business with whom they know. That’s why entrepreneurship isn’t necessarily developed by hard work only. However, immigrants, as demonstrated by ancestors of all ethnicities in Michigan, bring their own organic entrepreneurial drive. They are risk takers—that’s why they cross borders seeking opportunities—and they play a critical role in the renewal of struggling neighborhoods, for example Mexican Town in South West Detroit. A comprehensive immigration policy for Detroit must include the cessation of deportations which have been on the rise since the Obama administration took office. The rising wave and aggressive ICE raids of families in neighborhoods like Mexican town and subsequent deportations must stop. Beyond being immoral, sinful, and contrary to Christian values, these practices are working against any economic vitality effort by the City of Detroit and the business communities because it is reversing the rejuvenation of neighborhoods and commercial districts and also diminishing tax revenues to the city.