Communities and regions throughout the country

are forming coalitions like the West Michigan

Strategic Alliance to improve their communities’

quality of life and enhance their ability to compete

in the 21st century. They’re looking at job growth,

new business development and wealth creation;

environmental issues and transportation systems;

ways of revitalizing urban centers and enhancing

the cultural and social life of their communities.

As in West Michigan, forward-looking planners,

economic developers and community activists have

begun to recognize the key role played by newcomers

– immigrants and refugees – in jut about every

strategy for building strong communities.

For example, between 1990 and 2000, the population

base of the city of Grand Rapids would have eroded

without an influx of immigrants: the city lost nearly

4,600 residents but gained more than 13,000

newcomers from around the world. Thirty percent

of Kent County’s population growth and nearly 20

percent of the Grand Rapids-Holland-Muskegon

area population growth in the last decade is due

to immigration (U.S. Census Bureau).

These newcomers have the potential to contribute

to the health and prosperity of our community

in numerous ways. A recent Ernst & Young study

of immigration indicates that "Immigration will

be a key driver of economic growth… The newcomers

and their offspring will purchase homes, rent

apartments, buy consumer goods and services,

save and invest capital, start domestic businesses,

recruit managers and employees, provide a source

of labor, and enroll in trade schools, community

colleges and universities" (Ernst & Young, page 11).

The study elaborates on these impacts:

Many immigrants place a high priority on home

ownership, purchasing their first home as soon

as they can save for a down payment – generally

about 10 years after their arrival in the U.S.

According to the Fannie Mae Foundation, the

number of immigrant homeowners nationally will

increase by 2.2 million between 1995 and 2010 –

offsetting the anticipated lower demand for home

"Immigration will be a

key driver of economic

growth…The newcomers

and their offspring will

purchase homes, rent

apartments, buy consumer

goods and services, save

and invest capital, start

domestic businesses, recruit

managers and employees,

provide a source of labor,

and enroll in trade schools,

community colleges and

universities."

Ernst & Young, page 11