In Immigration, News Releases

For Immediate Release
June 23, 2022

Contact: 
Alex Rossman
arossman@mlpp.org
517-775-9053

On Immigrant Heritage Month, new county data shows immigrant issues are Michigan issues

Immigrants are an important part of every community and policymakers should act on key priorities to support them

LANSING—Nearly 700,000 immigrants call Michigan home, and in honor of Immigrant Heritage Month, the Michigan League for Public Policy is urging policymakers to rely on data to make the state more welcoming for all. The League released today a new set of fact sheets on immigrants in Michigan’s 83 counties, as well as a statewide overview of Michigan’s immigrant population.

The statewide and county-specific data ranges from basic demographic information to trends over the last decade to information about business ownership and spending power.

“We’re all aware of the highly politicized rhetoric about immigrants, and these fact sheets are a way to cut through the noise and provide the facts about Michigan’s immigrant population. Part of the goal here is education, too. For example, it’s important for people to know that the term ‘noncitizen’ refers to a lot of different groups, including refugees, undocumented residents, green card holders, and other visa holders,” said Monique Stanton, president and CEO of the Michigan League for Public Policy. “We’re dedicated to using data to present the real picture of immigrants in Michigan. This is a population with the courage and tenacity to move here and make Michigan their new home, and they contribute so much to our state. It’s up to our leaders to better support this valuable part of our population.”

The fact sheets also make recommendations on immigrant-related policies for the state, including language access at key state agencies, restoring the ability for all residents to obtain a driver’s license and extending healthcare coverage to over 3,000 lawfully residing immigrant children. This last recommendation can be done in the 2023 budget process by appropriating matching state funds under the federal Immigrant Children’s Health Improvement Act.

“Using data like this is absolutely critical when we’re making policy decisions in Michigan, whether on the local county level or statewide. When this data is paired with what we’re hearing directly from immigrants and their families, we can really get a full sense of what communities need and what kinds of barriers are in place,” said Eva Alvarez, Public Policy Coordinator at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. “We know based on these numbers and based on our relationships, for instance, that it’s absolutely key for immigrants to be able to drive to and from work, to the store, to see their families. It’s data like this that helped motivate the Drive SAFE Bills—we know that residents in both rural and urban counties are being deeply harmed by not being able to legally drive, and we were able to show lawmakers, through both numbers and testimony, just how important this issue is.”

Statewide data highlights:

  • The number of naturalized citizens has risen by 29% since 2010, while the number of noncitizens has risen by 4%.

  • The majority (51.5%) of Michigan’s immigrants were born in Asia. 18.9% were born in Europe, and 18.6% were born in Latin America.

  • 11% of business owners in Michigan are immigrants, including 18% of Main Street business owners.

  • Combined, Michigan’s immigrants have a total household income of $28.1 billion and have a total spending power (after taxes paid) of $20.3 billion.

  • One in 10 Michiganders over age 5 speaks a language other than English

  • 10.6% of Michigan immigrants were uninsured, compared with 5% of Michiganders born in the United States.

The counties with the highest population of immigrants, in order, are: Oakland County, Wayne County, Macomb County, Kent County, Washtenaw County, Ingham County, Ottawa County, Kalamazoo County, and Genesee County. Several Northern Michigan and Upper Peninsula counties are in or near the top third of counties with the most immigrant residents, including Grand Traverse, Houghton, Marquette and Chippewa counties.

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The Michigan League for Public Policy, www.mlpp.org, is a nonprofit policy institute focused on opportunity for all. Its mission is to advance economic security, racial equity, health and well-being for all people in Michigan through policy change. It is the only state-level organization that addresses poverty in a comprehensive way.

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