Last week, Gov.Rick Snyder offered a proposal he thinks will jump start Detroit’s struggling economy. At a company in predominantly Hispanic southwest Detroit, the Governor said he wants the Federal government to increase the number of skilled immigrants in Michigan to reach 50,000 over five years. The only condition is that they have to live and work in Detroit.
The Governor points to data suggesting a multiplier effect involving skilled immigrants, meaning that every one creates more than two and a half additional jobs. However, the proposal needs approval by federal immigration authorities.
Dr. Jonathan Weinberg, a law professor specializing in immigration law at Wayne State University, says says the federal government has a program to give immigrant visas to people with advanced degrees or have exceptional ability in the sciences, arts and business. They must have a job offer from a U.S. employer, and the employer must show that there isn't a U.S. citizen in the area who is able to do the work.