Ten years ago, the “Global Detroit Study” demonstrated the many contributions immigrants make in Southeast Michigan as drivers of economic growth. The report also recommended 11 initiatives that would, through immigrant inclusion, help us build a more prosperous region. We are proud to say that, in the last decade, nearly all of those initiatives have not only been implemented but are flourishing, and Global Detroit is recognized as a national leader in building an immigrant-inclusive economy. 

Today, we are pleased to share our report on Global Detroit’s 10 Years of Impact. Milestones during our first decade include:

• Welcoming Michigan has helped make our state home to 22 Welcoming Communities, the most in the US

• The Global Talent Retention Initiative has connected more than 100 employers with more than 4,000 international students ready to work in Southeast Michigan

• The City of Detroit’s Office of Immigrant Affairs was established in 2015. In its first two years, OIA wrote a plan that more than doubled the number of refugees resettled in Detroit and worked with the Detroit City Council Immigration Task Force to create a Municipal ID and Language Access Plan. 

• More than 1200 entrepreneurs have completed the ProsperUS training and lending program, which has helped more than 300 small businesses open. Most are immigrant and minority entrepreneurs.

• Since 2014, we’ve helped Detroit residents navigate the Detroit Land Bank and Wayne County auction processes to purchase more than 50 vacant homes

• With Global EIR programs at the University of Michigan and Wayne State, international founders are launching their high-growth startups in Southeast Michigan. Across both programs, we expect to have six Global EIRs in the region by the end of 2020.

Our work has helped make Detroit a Top 10 welcoming city for immigrants in the New American Economy’s Cities Index in both 2018 and 2020. And Southeast Michigan is becoming more immigrant inclusive every day–between 2013 and 2017 alone, Detroit’s immigrant population grew 8%. 

We look forward to the next decade and beyond, and to building a Detroit and Southeast Michigan that is vibrant, equitable and prosperous–for all.

Read the full report here.