Michigan Governor Rick Snyder Calls For 50,000 Visas For Immigrant Professionals In Bid To Revive Detroit

The Associated Press reported on Thursday that in an effort to combat Detroit’s decreasing population and revive a flagging local economy, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has announced a new plan to attract foreign professionals to the city by requesting that the Obama administration set aside 50,000 EB-2 visas over five years for Detroit alone. The tally amounts to a quarter of the 40,000 EB-2 visas the government grants every year to “professionals with advanced degrees and individuals with exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business.” The Republican governor is seeking a mass waiver on the requirement that applicants have jobs lined up and that the prospective employer show that there are no qualified U.S. citizens to fill it.

Gov. Snyder announced the plan at the offices of the Detroit-based manufacturing and construction company the IDEAL Group, according to the AP, saying, "Let's send a message to the entire world: Detroit, Michigan, is open to the world.” In an interview on Wednesday, the governor told the Wall Street Journal that "this is one way for the federal government to step up to provide significant value without cost that could have a huge impact on the city's future." The paper writes that officials in Michigan say they aim to turn back a downward trend in Detroit’s population, which between 2000 and 2010 declined 25 percent.

The governor, a longtime advocate of immigration who says almost one-third of the state’s high-tech businesses were started by immigrants, touts the proposal -- which comes a day after he unveiled a plan to commit some $350 million in state funds to ensure the city’s pension funds and art collections -- as an alternative to a bailout. "This involves working with immigration rules and visa limits," he told the AP. "Here's a non-cash way to significantly accelerate the comeback of Detroit. Why wouldn't this be a great thing?"