U.S. Cities Look to Entice Immigration

In 2023, we tracked state governors that were looking for ways that immigrants could help address their workforce and economic needs, even at a time when immigration is being demagogued as an issue to mobilize voters. Cities also tell a different story than the common narrative. Some major cities have struggled to deal with southern governors bussing undocumented immigrants north to dump them in blue cities such as New York City and Washington, DC, but others have taken different, more accommodating approaches.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott made news as one of the first governors to bus immigrants out of the state, but Dallas has been actively pursuing strategies to make the city more welcoming to immigrants. It launched the Welcoming Dallas Strategic Plan in 2018, and the city government established the Office of Welcoming Communities and Immigrant Affairs. Last September it celebrated a nine-day Welcoming Week, and in April it hosted Welcoming America’s Welcoming Interactive, a national gathering of more than 800 community leaders, non-profits, members of state and local governments and the business community to share innovations and best practices to make their locales more inclusive.

Tulsa, Oklahoma has also been designated a “Welcoming City” along with Dallas and 17 other cities by the non-profit organization Welcoming America. Tulsa created the New Tulsans Initiative and has created the New Tulsans Welcoming Plan to map out the ways that neighbors, non-profits, businesses and the government can work together to help immigrants refuel the city’s workforce and economic base.

It’s easy to wonder if all of this activity is only good on paper, but a recent City Council vote suggests otherwise. When one councilman proposed an ordinance that would prevent city money from being used to help undocumented immigrants, the ordinance was voted down 6-2. “For every time that we say that it’s okay to question someone’s immigration status is another time a child or a person is getting threatened because of the way that they look,” said Councilor Crista Patrick.

Tulsa now has a substantial Afghan population after taking in Afghan refugees, and the city is working to better support those immigrants. The University of Tulsa partnered with 10 other colleges and universities to create the University Network for Afghan Women in conjunction with the American University of Afghanistan to support the education of women and girls. Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, girls and women over the age of 12 were forbidden from attending school, so the new University Network not only helps Afghan women in Tulsa but around the country get access to education.

In December, The Washington Post published the story, “Some states spurn migrants. The Rust Belt wants them.” In it, Tim Craig wrote, “In cities throughout the Rust Belt and Midwest in particular, many local leaders still view foreign-born residents as lifelines for rejuvenating the population, enhancing the workforce and transforming local cultures that have yet to catch up to the breadth of the nation’s diversity.”

Cities that have experienced declines in population and economic vitality see immigrants as a possible answer to their uncertain futures. When rumors that busloads of immigrants might end up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, local leaders prepared to receive them by getting local accommodations ready and securing translators to help make a bewildering experience less scary. As of the reporting, no buses had arrived, but according to Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, “We are not here to reject any immigration. As a matter of fact, we want to make this the most safe, welcoming, thriving place in America, and you can’t do that without immigration.”

The desire for immigrants has prompted some cities to provide incentives to relocate. In June 2023, GO Topeka, an economic development agency in Topeka, Kansas announced that it would offer up to $15,000 toward the purchase of a home or child care for immigrants from Mexico, Central American and South America that enter the country legally, move to Topeka and work for a local company. They see the trends in the workforce and the growth of the Hispanic sector in particular, and like many cities Topeka wants them to feel integrated into the fabric of the community so that the city will attract workers and the accompanying economic activity in the future.

“We're being intentional in talking to Hispanic stakeholders about how we can market more authentically to that demographic,” says Bob Ross, senior vice president for marketing and communications and events for the Greater Topeka Partnership. “We see the growing Hispanic population as a very powerful talent pool that we can draw on over the next 10 to 20 years.”

It’s frustrating to watch counterproductive attitudes toward immigration dominate the national conversation at a time when comprehensive immigration reform is obviously necessary. Still, it’s useful to look behind the blowhards drumming up fear and see politicians and leaders in cities and states that are looking for more rational solutions more in keeping with our national values.