All large communities experience the arrival of new people.
Sometimes the newcomers arrive from nearby; sometimes they arrive from afar.
Sometimes newcomers and longer-term residents have similar languages, customs,
and cultures; other times, they differ, at least on the surface. The constant
blending of people from different places constitutes a regular aspect of life
in most parts of our globalized, modern world.
In Minnesota in the 2010s, the migration of people into the
state is not just something that happens to occur. It’s something that needs to
occur. In 2013, the Minnesota State Demographic Center indicated that “greater numbers of migrants, both
domestic and international, will be necessary to meet our state’s workforce
needs and to buttress economic activity.”
Here in Minnesota, we have the opportunity to welcome
newcomers and to maintain a high quality of life for all residents, new and
long-term. To accomplish that effectively requires that we learn what’s working
for our new arrivals, along with what issues and challenges they face.
For that reason, Wilder Research carried out a major study –
Speaking for Ourselves – to focus attention on foreign-born people who have
settled in Minnesota’s Twin Cities region. We wanted to learn about their lives
– their families, education, jobs, health, and engagement in their communities.
The findings confirm some notions and challenge others. You
can find easy-to-read summary reports on our website. For most topics, the
research reveals a blend of positives and negatives. For example:
Health. About three-quarters of those who participated in the
survey consider their health “excellent,” “very good,” or “good.” However, these
ratings fall slightly lower than the health self-ratings of other Minnesotans. Health
care, employment assistance, housing, and food assistance were all identified
as helpful resources. Yet lack of health insurance, cost of health care, and
cost of insurance create barriers to obtaining needed health care – despite
federal and state initiatives intended to make health care more accessible.
Education. Parental encouragement helps to keep children in school,
and about three-quarters of survey participants feel “fully able” to provide a
home environment good for studying. On the other hand, only about one-quarter feel
“fully able” to help their children with homework in English. Nearly all
believe their children will go to college, but about three-quarters consider
financial issues a barrier to obtaining post-secondary education.
Connections to mainstream institutions. Almost all of the immigrants
and refugees who participated in Speaking
for Ourselves had heard about or visited a public library. However, large
proportions had not heard about or visited some major cultural institutions,
such as the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Minnesota History Center, and
the Minnesota Children’s Museum.
Civic and social participation. Survey respondents frequently offer
assistance to neighbors, family, and friends. Yet, they tend not to volunteer
their time in formal volunteer programs.
Those few findings illustrate the social assets existing
among immigrants to our region; they also illustrate some of the challenges
immigrants face. It is important to consider both the needs of these newcomers
as well as the assets and resilience factors they possess, and to engage with
these newcomers about their experiences and preferences, as we discuss and
decide on programs and public policies to meet their needs.
A hopeful sign: organizations in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul
region, as well as members of immigrant groups themselves, have begun to follow
up on the study’s findings. Anna Bartholomay’s blog highlights some of this activity, as does one of the study
reports. Cultural institutions who have had some successes in attracting visitors
and recruiting volunteers from immigrant communities have embraced the study’s
findings to formulate new plans of action to increase their appeal to, and
relevance for, the region’s newest arrivals.
Our work on this study involved representatives of immigrant
groups as partners, as well as representatives of some government and nonprofit
organizations. This collaboration produced relevant and important findings
useful for improving our quality of life in Minnesota, as well as useful for
educating other communities around the world.
