Attorney
Herman has pointed out that the Brookings Institution,
a nonprofit public policy organization based in
Washington, DC, has started a Global Cities Initiative.
Some of the think tank’s staff members will address a meeting in
Columbus on May 9.
“They’re basically saying cities
need to think about global strategies and global engagement,”
said Herman. “Immigrants are a big part of that.”
The immigration attorney/advocate
admitted there is a negative attitude toward globalization in
general, and immigrants in particular—especially across the
Midwest. Herman explained that manufacturing-heavy Rust Belt
Cities have been hit hard by globalization and related job
losses.
“We’ve been the punching bag of
globalization,” Herman said. “So we have to change the
conversation, about how to harvest the fruits of globalization.”
He pointed to
an International Monetary Fund statistic that 87 percent
of the world’s economic growth in the next five years will take
place outside the United States. Such global demand can lead to
opportunities to increase exports.
“That’s where
job creation is going to come from,” Herman explained. “I don’t
think a lot of Midwest cities think this way.”
He joked that
many people on the east or west sides of Cleveland “don’t travel
across the Cuyahoga River let alone 12 time zones.” The same has
been said many times about Toledoans crossing the Maumee River.
Midwest
animus towards Chinese
Herman related
a conversation he had with a Toledo businessman about the
Chinese investment firm Dashing Pacific and its purchase
of the Marina District last year.
“There’s a
definite animus in the Midwest toward the Chinese,” he said.
“That’s a shame because we could actually be courting a lot of
our money back to the U.S. from China. There’s a real strategy
in being welcoming. I know some business leaders here in Ohio
who are not interested in attracting Chinese businesses here and
Chinese investment. They don’t feel the Chinese are serious.”
Torres pointed
to the series of trips Toledo Mayor Mike Bell and an economic
development entourage made to China to secure additional foreign
investment.
“What was very
prevalent was the dialogue about why is he going over there, the
Chinese are buying our property, why would he try to sell to
them,” he recalled. “When you hear rhetoric like that, it goes
around and people understand that’s not an attitude that will
support an immigrant-friendly environment. We have to change
that rhetoric.”
Herman
predicted a pattern of Chinese investment in the United States
similar to what Japanese investors did in the 1970s and 1980s.
Now, like then, China holds much of US-America’s debt and a huge
foreign currency reserve. He explained that Japanese companies
came state-side to build manufacturing with those reserves. A
good example of that are the Honda auto plants near Marysville
in Central Ohio.
“I think the
Chinese are going to do that, too,” Herman said. “It’s going to
depend on what states and what cities are the most welcoming.”
The
immigration attorney related the story of a Chinese business
associate who recently had moved to Cleveland and was hoping to
attract other Chinese investment to that city. But he found no
chambers of commerce in Northeast Ohio who had marketing
materials printed in Chinese.
Herman
explained the man invested his own money putting together a
video using existing images of Cleveland, but translated by a
journalist so he could return to his homeland and “sell” the
city as a good place to put their capital. The video has been
broadcast on Chinese TV, but the businessman had to do it on his
own.
“Immigrants
are agents of globalization,” Herman said. “Immigrants are the
bridge to global markets. They’re a bridge to renewed
discussions on diversity, inclusion, and global activity. If you
don’t have a lot of immigrants to begin with, you’re landlocked
and you’re insular, you’re Midwestern—you’re going to be left
behind, you’re going to be backwater.”
Dayton’s civic
initiative won’t focus on foreign investment as much as it does
invite a new generation of immigrants to buy and renovate
abandoned homes, build neighborhoods, launch businesses and join
the mosaic there.
“The salt-of-the-Earth immigrants, the mom-and-pop shop
immigrants are critical to neighborhood stabilization and
revitalization,” said Herman, explaining population loss and the
foreclosure crisis has left a lot of Midwest cities with a
surplus of vacant and abandoned housing stock that is crumbling,
but can be saved.
Toledo
accepts matricula consular
Toledo, for
its part, began accepting the Mexican consular card—matricula
consular—as an official form of identification several years
ago, after seeing migrant farmworker families settle in
Northwest Ohio. Virtually every Latino family that has stayed in
the Glass City can point to their roots as migrant farm families
who saw better opportunity for their children and future
generations. Yet Toledo’s Latino population continues to
struggle for acceptance within the larger community.
“I think what
we’re going to find in Toledo are similar challenges to what
Cleveland has found,” said Torres. “You have a population that
looks at immigration and sees it in a negative light.”
When the pair
talks about cities like Cleveland and Toledo becoming
immigrant-friendly communities, they hope government leaders
will set aside incentive dollars to recruit international
companies and immigrant entrepreneurs into those cities.
“That has yet
to be broached in either of those communities,” Torres pointed
out.
Herman now
travels the country speaking on behalf of The Partnership for
a New American Economy, an effort started by New York City
mayor Michael Bloomberg and media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
“It’s all
about trying to change the conversation from this vitriolic
conversation to a more welcoming conversation,” he said. “We can
leverage immigration to grow our economy and create jobs for
Americans.”
Editor’s Note:
Welcoming Michigan hosts a public celebration to announce
the launch of its statewide initiative highlighting the
contributions of Michigan’s immigrants. Welcoming Michigan
believes that when Michigan welcomes immigrants, Michigan
thrives.
What: A News Conference for the Welcoming Michigan Initiative Launch;
When: Monday, May 7, 2012, 10:00 AM;
Where:
Rivard
Plaza, 1340 E. Atwater St., Detroit, just east
of the Renaissance Center;
Why: According to its press frelease, “When it comes to
immigration, it’s easy to let differences separate us, but it’s
not in anyone’s best
interest. At Welcoming Michigan, we seek to build mutual
respect among foreign-born and U.S.-born people who call
Michigan home. Michigan is the only state that lost population
between 2000 and 2010. Michigan’s immigrants account for large
and growing shares of the economy and the electorate, and can
help turn the state around. We have established four local
Welcoming committees in focus communities in Metro Detroit and
West Michigan. In the coming months, we’ll seek to expand that
work and share our message. When Michigan welcomes immigrants,
Michigan thrives.”
Welcoming Michigan is a
project of the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center with
support from the Ford Foundation and W.K. Kellogg
Foundation. To learn more about Welcoming Michigan, visit
Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/welcomingmichigan.
On the
Internet:
http://michiganradio.org/post/snyder-other-leaders-want-more-immigrant-friendly-michigan
|