By Jeff Karoub
Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) — Gov. Rick Snyder has designated a week aimed at welcoming immigrants to Michigan, underscoring his larger goal of fueling the state economy with the entrepreneurial acumen of many newcomers.
Snyder said in a news release that the period running through Sunday is intended to recognize immigrants and their economic and cultural assets.
“Michigan is a state with a rich heritage of immigrants and their families contributing to make our state special,” he said. “It’s important for us to continue working to welcome people who come to our state, leveraging their full potential.”
Among the Welcoming Week in Michigan activities was a daylong event at Macomb Community College in Warren aimed at sharing efforts on creating welcoming communities as well as ideas for integrating immigrants.
Last year, Snyder created the Michigan Office for New Americans to lure and keep immigrants and promote their “entrepreneurial spirit.” To lead it he named Bing Goei, an Indonesian of Chinese descent who settled in Grand Rapids in 1960 and is CEO of Eastern Floral.
Also in 2014, Snyder asked the U.S. government to designate tens of thousands of work visas to Detroit to attract highly skilled, entrepreneurial immigrants to the city. While nothing has developed, Snyder told The Associated Press earlier this year his administration plans to “re-energize the effort.”
The Republican governor has progressed on a related front: He announced in April 2014 that the federal government approved his request for Michigan to host a center aimed at attracting foreign investors to create jobs and live in the United States — only the nation’s second such center after Vermont.
Michigan’s best-known immigrant community consists of those who trace their roots to the Middle East, but the state has newcomers from across the globe. Snyder’s office also has expressed openness to working with the Obama administration, which last week discussed plans for the U.S. to accept significantly more Syrian refugees in the coming budget year as millions flee the war-torn nation.
Refugees, technically a separate category from immigrants, are those forced to leave their countries because of wars, persecution or natural disasters.
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