In Metro Detroit Immigration Plan's
Economic Effect is Concern
May 18, 2007

By Niraj Warikoo
Free Press Staff Writer

Advocates for metro Detroit immigrants are skeptical about a compromise touted by senators Thursday, saying the immigration proposal could hamper Michigan's economy.

Some said they were cautiously optimistic about parts of the plan, which would affect an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States, about 150,000 of them in Michigan. But others said the proposal would establish an unequal system that fails to address the economic demands for low-skill labor.

"It will continue to maintain an immigration system that is inadequate for a 21st-Century economy," said Juan Escareno, immigrant rights organizer with the Detroit-based Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling Strength (MOSES).

He said he is concerned by the part of the plan that gives preference to immigrants with higher education and skills over those with low skills.

"They're trying to create a two-tier immigration system," Escareno said. "Why are they creating a visa program for the top tier, and not focusing on the low-skill market, where there is a need?"

Noel Saleh, head of the board for the Dearborn-based Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, also opposes a plan that disfavors low-skilled immigrants. But he said that he was pleased the proposal appears to offer a path to citizenship.

Metro Detroit has seen an influx of illegal immigrants in recent years with many of them working in restaurants and factories and on construction sites. The plan won't do much to help them, advocates say.

"This was just a way to appease some people, but not a way of helping our communities," said Edith Castillo, deputy director of the Southwest Detroit Business Association.

Contact NIRAJ WARIKOO at 248-351-2998 or nwarikoo@freepress.com