Upwardly Global and the American Immigration Council (AIC)‘s newest report, “Building Community and Fueling Growth: The Role of Immigrants in Reviving the Great Lakes Region,” was recently featured on WORT 89.9FM Madison, a non-commercial, listener-sponsored community radio station broadcasting to South-Central Wisonsin.
47,000 immigrants in Wisconsin are eligible to vote – more than double President Biden’s margin of victory in 2020.
Immigrants also make up nearly 6% of our state’s workforce and pay billions in taxes every year.
That’s according to a new report from Upwardly Global, a national group that helps immigrants find careers in the U.S., and the American Immigration Council, a nonpartisan research and policy organization.
Leani García Torres is the chief of staff at the American Immigration Council. She tells WORT News Producer Faye Parks that immigrants contribute to population growth, the workforce, and local economies in the Great Lakes region – reviving the post-industrial “Rust Belt.”
Leani García Torres shared, “We looked at the entire region, including Wisconsin, and what we saw was that there had been a decline in population [and] in industry over the past seven decades. And we’re seeing a complete revitalization of the region, including in the state [of Wisconsin]. We’re seeing folks who are staying and helping reverse population decline. We’re seeing folks creating jobs, owning homes, renting homes, contributing to taxes — so all of the things that you would want to see to really have an economically and socially vibrant region.”
In the radio broadcast, they also talk about naturalized immigrants’ potential electoral influence and the greatest barriers immigrant professionals face when restarting their careers in the United States — particularly those in fields that require certification, such as healthcare.
Listen to the full 7-minute audio clip here: Immigrants contributing to revival of the Great Lakes region, new report finds