Michigan's governor has sparked a national discussion about using immigration policy for urban renewal.
The governor's proposal "is fanciful at best," a former Detroit News editorial writer comments at Reason.com.
Rick Snyder's call last Thursday for linking a city residence requirement to 50,000 high-tech work visas over five years is the focus of three prominent commentaries:
Joshua Keating, Slate: Immigrants aren’t a magic elixir that will make the urban desert bloom. But the plan proposed by Snyder, a Republican, comes amid proposals by a number of struggling rust belt cities to attract their "fair share" of immigrants. If a number of states set up similar programs, they would still have to compete to make themselves attractive to new arrivals.
It’s not a magic bullet and comprehensive reform at the national level still seems preferable. But absent that, it seems worth giving cities like Detroit the opportunity to try.
Shikha Dalmia, Reason Foundation: The notion that cities like Detroit can conscript immigrants and watch a comeback happen is fanciful at best. . . . Immigrants are ordinary mortals, not miracle workers.
There is no doubt that newcomers are very good at finding and seizing openings in an economy that the native-born residents don’t see or don’t want. But these opportunities have to exist. . . . You can’t pour high-octane fuel into a broken engine and expect it to run, folks. Gotta fix the engine first. (Dalmia, a senior public policy analyst, is a former Detroit News editorial writer.)
Brandon Fuller, NYU urban project deputy director: Recruiting immigrants is unlikely, by itself, to return Detroit to its former glory. . . . But given that the area around Detroit is on reasonably sound economic footing, it is not at all far fetched to believe that the city could see dramatic returns from a combination of recruiting immigrants, re-establishing public safety, and improving service provision.
Snyder’s policy proposal is important, not just for Michigan and Detroit but also for national immigration policy. . . . . The feds should allow all states, not just Michigan, to recruit immigrants to their towns and cities. Detroit is not the only city that would benefit from additional immigration. A bit of healthy competition between states would improve the national benefits. . . .
The feds should allow the states to sponsor the visas, creating a new category of "state-based visas" in addition to the existing employment-based visas.
-- Alan Stamm
Earlier on Deadline Detroit:
Gov. Snyder Wants 50,000 New Immigrants to Come to Detroit, Jan. 23
