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Opinion | Immigration key to Michigan economic growth, especially after SanDisk
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It would be fair for some of the leaders in the Michigan economic development community to feel a little salty about the cancelled chip fabrication center on rural land near Flint.
“Project Grit” promised unprecedented state subsidies (some $20 billion in taxpayer money, including almost $2 billion in cash) to the Sandisk Corp. to build a $63 billion semiconductor fabrication development projected to generate 9,400 jobs to a site in Mundy Township. In July, after a year of negotiation, Sandisk cancelled the deal and planned semiconductor developments nationwide, citing the economy.
I’m a longtime Democrat and former state House representative. No doubt, government can help guide growth. But it can also be wasteful. I’ve long felt squeamish about massive subsidies to our largest companies while acknowledging that Michigan can’t simply get out of the subsidy game.
There’s a lot of merit to arguments that, rather than subsidizing a single development, Michigan can spend the same money to create an environment that allows businesses to flourish and attract high-skilled talent.
One starting point: immigration. After all, Sandisk is a company founded by three immigrants, all of whom first came to the US as international students. Nationwide, more than 70% of master’s and doctoral students in computer science and electrical engineering are international students.
More than taxes, cutting red tape, unions or any other policy issue, talent is by far the No. 1 issue for economic developers, according to numerous studies.
As executive director of Global Detroit, I was contacted last year by leaders in Syracuse, New York, after they landed a $100 billion semiconductor fabricating investment. They were struggling to find enough engineers to staff the facility and construction workers to build it.
The reality is that American communities like Syracuse and Mundy Township cannot facilitate large industrial growth without immigrants.
Over half of US venture-backed startup companies valued at over $1 billion (often referred to as “unicorn” companies) are immigrant founded. And Michigan is a leader in creating conditions to leverage their strength. Global Entrepreneurs in Residence programs have enabled nearly two dozen immigrant startup founders to connect with universities and startup ecosystems in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Grand Rapids and the Upper Peninsula.
Global EIR founders have raised more than $30 million in venture capital and created some 200 high-paying tech jobs. Our state’s initial investment in Global EIR programs as part of the Michigan Global Talent Initiative in 2023 (of which Global Detroit is the lead partner) has been copied by California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Washington.
The Michigan Global Talent Initiative works with some of the 38,000 international students studying in Michigan to connect them to employers and unmet talent needs in the Michigan economy. These students contribute $1.45 billion annually in their spending on tuition, rent, food, entertainment and goods and services. (That’s more than six times the spending that occurred by hosting the NFL Draft). Our state’s international student retention program, originally launched at the University Research Corridor and currently led by Global Detroit is the nation’s first and nation’s largest international student retention program run outside of a university.
The loss of “Project Grit” should raise questions on how the state prioritizes its economic development spending. But even if one embraces that Michigan must have the tools to compete in the mega-project subsidy game, certainly small investments that help immigrant entrepreneurs stay in Michigan after finishing their studies as an international student or launch a startup through the Global EIR program should have a place.
In the five years since the Michigan Global Talent Initiative was originally conceived in 2019, Michigan has added nearly 55,000 college-educated immigrants to the workforce. Few, if any, economic development investments can point to that kind of success. Michigan has built an early lead and tremendous record on developing and implementing economic development policies that value the contributions that immigrants make. Let’s not lose that asset in our portfolio.
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