Recognizing the essential role immigrants play in Michigan matters now more than ever, as radical ideas for unprecedented and unsparing mass deportations take shape on the campaign trail and in Washington.
Immigrants in Michigan make up a larger portion of the workforce than their total population share, making immigrants vital to the state’s economic strength.
Immigrants account for 6.9% of Michigan’s population, totaling 687,700 people, but they compromise 8.3% of the workforce and make up large sections of key industries:
- In 2022, immigrants in Michigan comprised 8.3 percent of the total workforce.
- In 2022, 11.1 percent of Michigan’s self-employed entrepreneurs were immigrants.
- Michigan’s immigrants are providing an educated workforce for the state, with 22.9% of Michigan’s immigrant population having a graduate degree, compared to only 11.7% of native-born Michiganders.
- Immigrants make up large sections of key industries in Michigan, including STEM workers, nurses, and manufacturing.
Immigrants have contributed billions in tax revenue to Michigan and added billions to Michigan’s economy. According to the American Immigration Council:
- Michigan’s immigrants had $31.3 billion in household income and have an estimated $23.1 billion in spending power.
- Immigrants contributed $2.6 billion in combined state and local taxes, and $5.5 billion in federal taxes.
- A study by the American Immigration Council found that unauthorized immigrants in Michigan contribute $128.7 million in combined state and local taxes annually.
Michigan’s STEM occupations depend on immigrants, representing nearly one-fifth of all STEM workers.
- 18.6 percent of Michigan’s STEM workers were immigrants in 2022.
- 29.1 percent of Michigan’s software developers were immigrants in 2022.
- 27 percent of Michigan’s physicians were immigrants in 2022.
The individual stories behind the numbers highlight the dedication of Michigan immigrants as they work to grow their businesses, strengthen Michigan’s economy, and create opportunities for their families.
“Manoj Bhargava emigrated from Lucknow, India when he was fourteen years old. If his name sounds familiar, it is because Bhargava is the founder of 5-Hour ENERGY, the little energy shots that one can see at any checkout counter across the grocery stores in the United States. However, in the last few years, Bharagava has focused his attention on innovation that can help alleviate poverty and help the environment. In addition, he has pledged to donate 90% of his $4 billion fortune to charity and research. Part of his philanthropy takes form in his fund: Stage 2 Innovations. The investment fund seeks to put 100 million dollars towards innovations that focus on “clean energy, pure water, advanced medical technology, and benefiting mankind,”
“Ali Bazzi, who is the son of Lebanese immigrants, and Saad A. Saad who was born in Lebanon and immigrated in 1999, are cousins who sought to create a business that would help out those in need. So they started Retea in order to help the refugee community. The company’s mission is to help change the world through education, that is why they partnered with the non-profit, International Rescue Committee (IRC). With every $10 tea pouch purchased, a refugee child receives ten hours of education. Already, the company has donated more than 23,780 hours of education. Retea can be found at local grocery stores throughout southeastern Michigan, as well as on their website.”
“Ojas Akolkar is originally from Mumbai, India. After travelling and living in multiple countries, Akolkar put her roots down in Michigan. She has since opened up an online boutique called Tribalfare. Tribalfare sells beautiful clothing, home decor, and accessories made by artisans across India. Though right now Tribalfare is an online platform, Akolkar is looking to open a brick and mortar store in 2020. As a true cosmopolitan, Akolkar’s business encourages multiculturalism, as Tribalfare’s website says “When cultures meet … magic happens!”
“Sylvia Nolasco-Rivers fled El Salvador in the 1980s to escape civil war. After the government killed two of her uncles and wounded her other family, Nolasco-River’s family made the decision to leave El Salvador. Nolasco-Rivers and her family stayed in Mexico before settling permanently in the United States. Her restaurant, Pilar’s Tamales, opened on November 23, 2010 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Patrons can enjoy El Salvadorian delicacies such as pulled pork tamales, vegan sweet plantain tamalitos, black loroco and cheese pupusas. Pilar’s Tamales prides itself on using locally-grown high quality produce in their dishes. Nolasco-Rivers prides herself in being involved in her community at large also caters and has a food cart that she brings to the Ann Arbor Farmers Market and the Homegrown Festival.”
Shaffwan Ahmed, 30, has a stirring message for “skeptics who say that immigrants drain American resources.” In a Free Press guest column, he writes: In 1990, when my father opened a grocery store on Conant Street in Detroit at the border of Hamtramck, the area was blighted, home to empty buildings in disrepair. Chrysler had closed its Dodge Main plant a decade earlier, prompting a mass exodus, which devastated the community and its tax base. And yet my father, an immigrant from Bangladesh, saw through the city’s rust belt decay. He saw its potential.”
