This is one of those feel-good stories about how Minnesota is such a wonderful state with its ever-expanding African migrant population. If you are a Minnesotan it’s probably a good thing to read.
However, I caution readers on the numbers. The TwinCities Pioneer Press reports that there are about 85,000 Somalis in the whole US and that just isn’t so…the number is much larger. We painstakingly researched the numbers for just those entering the US through the refugee program and came up with over 100,000 in the last 25 years and that doesn’t include a couple generations now of producing children. See this early post.
You will see mention in the story that when census takers come around, the Africans are less than truthful about how many are living at the location.
From TwinCities Pioneer Press:
Of the 50 states, Minnesota has the ninth-largest population of African immigrants. About 60 percent come from East African nations such as Somalia and Ethiopia, and 25 percent from West African nations such as Nigeria and Liberia. The rest come from elsewhere in Africa.
[….]
Of more than 85,700 Somalis officially known to reside in the U.S., nearly a third are thought to reside in Minnesota.
[….]
Corrie, a professor at Concordia University in St. Paul, believes the state’s African population produces $14 million in philanthropy within Minnesota each year, on top of $150 million in annual remittances to countries in Africa.
I don’t know why this is considered a good thing—sending money out of America that will never benefit our economy!
Some of the ‘smart’ people on our side should get to work doing studies that will show the real picture including how much welfare is consumed by the immigrants, how costly is their medical care and education, the cost to the criminal justice system, and include an analysis of where the money goes!
I’m starting to think that glowing reports about how immigrants benefit the local economy include the money flowing into a state like Minnesota from the federal tax payer via welfare programs. Someone needs to find out!
By the way, I don’t see any mention in the Pioneer Press story about the fact that half of the state’s Somalis live in poverty, here.