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Michigan

Summary Demographic State Data (and Source)
Population (2008 FAIR estimate):	10,003,422
Population (2000 Census):	9,938,444
Foreign-Born Population (2008 FAIR est.):	639,035
Foreign-Born Population (2000 Census):	523,589
Share Foreign-Born (2008 FAIR est.):	6.4%
Share Foreign-Born (2000):	5.3%
Immigrant Stock (2000 CB est.):	1,298,000
Share Immigrant Stock (2000 est.):	13.1%
Naturalized U.S. Citizens (2006 CB est.):	285,170
Share Naturalized (2006):	47.6%
Legal Immigrant Admission (DHS 1997-2007):	178,765
Refugee Admission (DHS 1997-2007):	18,161
Illegal Alien Population (2008 FAIR est.):	125,000
Projected 2050 Population - (2006 FAIR)	13,124,190

Michigan: Census Bureau Data

STATE POPULATION

Using the Current Population Survey, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that in July 2008 Michigan’s population had increased to 10,003,422 residents, i.e., an annual average increase of about 7,830 residents since 2000. That is a rate of increase of about 0.1 percent per year.

NET INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION (NIM)

Based on the Current Population Survey, the Census Bureau estimated that between the 2000 Census and July 2008 the state’s population increased by about 157,175 residents from net international migration (more foreign-born arriving than leaving). That was an annual average increase of about 18,935 residents, i.e., more than the state’s total increase (242%), and that is not including the children born to the immigrants after their arrival in the United States.

The 2000 Census found 9,938,444 persons resident in Michigan. This was an increase of 643,147 persons above the 1990 Census. The amount of increase was the 15th highest in the country, however the rate of increase (6.9%) was not among the 25 fastest increasing population in the country.

The 2000 population is about 250,000 more persons than the Census Bureau had expected to find in the state in 2000 when it issued its most recent state population projections in 1996. The significance of this is that the Census Bureau has concluded that much of the shortfall in their population estimates during the 1990s was due to an underestimation of the illegal alien population.

The population of Michigan rose by 0.4 percent from 1980 to 1990 (from 9,262,044 to 9,295,297 residents).

FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION

Based on the American Community Survey (ACS), the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the foreign-born population of Michigan was 610,173 persons in 2006. The ACS is a large-scale, continuous sampling process designed to replace the need for a long-form in the 2010 Census. However, because the ACS does not have the same follow-up procedures as the Census to include non-respondents, it may underestimate the foreign-born population.

FAIR estimates that the foreign-born population of Michigan was about 639,035 residents in July 2008. This meant a foreign-born population share of 6.4 percent. The amount of change since the 2000 Census indicates an average annual rate of increase in the foreign-born population of about 13,910 people, which is more than the total (177.7%) of the state’s annual average population increase. Since 2000, the foreign-born population has increased by 22 percent compared to a 0.5 percent decrease in the native-born population.

Immigration also contributes to population growth through the children born to immigrants in this country. Nationally the share of births to the foreign-born is about double their share of the population. A 12.8 percent share of the state’s current births is large enough to account for about 16,565 births a year. Combining the increase in the foreign-born population and estimated immigrant births suggests that immigration may account for nearly 20,475 persons added to the state’s population annually, i.e., much more than the total (389.3%) of the state’s overall population increase.

The 2000 Census found that 44.9 percent of Michigan's foreign-born population had arrived in the state since 1990. This demonstrates the effects of the current mass immigration, and it is a slightly higher share than the national average (43.7%).

An indicator of the change in the immigrant population may be seen in data on the share of the population that speaks a language other than English at home. Between 1990 and 2000 the share of non-English speakers at home in Michigan increased by nearly one-quarter, from 6.6 percent to 8.2 percent. Less than two-fifths (37.7%) of those who said they spoke a language other than English at home in 2000 also said they spoke English less than very well.

Speakers of Foreign Languages (at home in Michigan in the 2000 Census)
Spanish	246,680
Arabic	75,410
German	52,320
Polish	40,370
French	38,645
Italian	30,505
Syrian	25,920
Chinese	22,255
Korean	13,315
Albanian	12,915
(Source: Census Bureau report: Language Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over, April 2004)

The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey found that in 2006, the state’s foreign born population was 598,651 residents, an increase of 14.3 percent since 2000. In comparison, the foreign-born population changed from 355,393 to 523,589 residents between 1990 and 2000, an increase of 47.3 percent.

The ten countries below constituted 50.7% of the foreign-born population in Michigan in 2006. Mexico accounted for fourteen percent alone.

Foreign-Born Change: Top Ten Countries 1980-2006
Rank	Country	1980		Country	1990		Country	2006
1	Canada	54,630		Mexico	58,392		Mexico	83,896
2	Germany	24,135		Canada	49,515		Canada	47,435
3	U.K.	23,841		India	36,323		India	46,996
4	Poland	18,634		Iraq	31,927		China	24,118
5	Italy	18,549		Germany	22,814		Korea	21,503
6	Iraq	14,343		China *	21,368		Germnay	20,585
7	Mexico	13,656		U.K.	20,614		Lebanon	19,846
8	India	13,386		Korea	18,107		Phiippines	16,617
9	Yugo.	10,773		Lebanon	18,102		Vietnam	12,889
10	Lebanon	10,488		Poland	15,303		England	928
	All Other	152,958		All Others	231,124		Total	294,8383
	Total	355,393		Total	523,124		All others	303,813

THE IMMIGRANT STOCK

The Census Bureau estimated that there were about 1,298,000 people in Michigan in 2000 who were "immigrant stock." That is a term that refers to immigrants and their children born here after their arrival. Based on that estimate, and a population of 9,938,444, the immigrant stock share of the state's population was 13.1 percent.

As the graph below shows, the amount of Michigan’s population change due to the increase in the foreign stock is rising rapidly. Over the past 34 years the new immigrants and children born to them have added about 671,000 people to the population. Over this period, the increase in the foreign stock has accounted for 54 percent of the state’s population increase.

NATURALIZATION

Data from the 2006 American Community Survey indicate that 285,170 residents, or 47.6 percent, of the foreign-born population in Michigan were citizens, compared to 239,955 residents, or 45.8 percent, in 2000.

Nationally, 40.3 percent of the foreign-born population was citizens in 2000, and 42.0 percent in 2006

Population Projections

Michigan -- Projected Population in 2050: Projection Scenarios

Amnesty+	High-trend	Low-trend	Zero-net
13,124,190	12,682,215	12,387,757	11,052,655

Michigan's projected population in 2050 could range anywhere from about 11 million to about 13.1 million residents. The more than 2 million person difference between these alternatives depends on whether policies aimed at immigration stability are adopted or, instead, currently advocated policies that would accommodate today's illegal alien population, allow a new stream of guest workers and increase legal immigration are adopted.

Without any change in immigration policy or enforcement, i.e., with the current trend in large-scale legal and illegal immigration, the state's population is likely to increase from today's about 10.2 million residents to around 12.4 million to 12.7 million persons in 2050 - an increase of 22 to 24 percent.

The largest difference from the current trend comes in comparison with a zero-net immigration scenario (when arriving immigrants balance those who are departing). In that case, the population would still grow, but not as much, i.e., by less than 9 percent. However, if the currently proposed immigration expansion and illegal alien accommodation proposals were adopted - the amnesty/guest worker/immigration increase scenario - the increase in the projected population over the next 45 years would be accelerated to nearly 29 percent higher than the current level.

Michigan -- Projected Population in 2050: Cohorts

1970 Pop.	Post-'70 Stock	Legal Post-'04	Illegal Post-'04	Amnesty+
10,156,737	895,918	1,209,357	420,203	441,975

The projection indicates that the population that was already in the country in 1970 - before the effects of the 1965 major change in immigration law - will rise slowly over the next 45 years - by 676,000 residents (7%). This reflects close to replacement level family size.

Post-1970 immigrants are projected to add nearly 220,000 more people, growing 32 percent by 2050. This growth is influenced by the larger average family size of these immigrants to the state. At the beginning of the projection, this post-1970 immigrant cohort already accounted for about 676,000 of the state's residents. By 2050, this cohort is projected to rise to 896,000 residents largely on the basis of succeeding generations being larger than that of their forebears.

Without any change in the immigration laws, current mass immigration is projected to continue into the state. Michigan has had an average of 16,000 legal immigrant admissions per year between 1994 and 2003. The largest flow to the state is by persons from Asian countries. They are projected to continue to represent nearly 48 percent of the new admissions.

The second largest immigrant influx is Immigrants from countries with predominantly white populations (36%). Immigrants from Mexico and other Hispanic countries represent 12.5 percent of the immigrant flow, and about 3.5 percent come from countries with black populations in Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. We project that new immigrants and their children from all sources will add nearly 1.2 million residents to the state's population over the next 45 years if current trends remain unchanged. This projection includes new immigrants and their offspring.

We estimate that Michigan's illegal alien population now numbers about 131,000 persons. The continued addition of illegal immigrants over the next 45 years, assuming it continues at current rates, is projected to add nearly 420,000 residents to the population from newcomers and their offspring.

Finally, we project that proposals for amnesty and other provision that are currently being advocated, if adopted, would add an additional more than 440,000 persons to the state's population over the next 45 years. This would result from the family members of amnesty recipients, increased legal immigration, and increased long-term guest worker residents.

Michigan -- Projected Population in 2050: Demographic Change

White, not Hispanic	Mexican	Other Hispanic	Black	Asian	Other
8,247,263	1,128,291	377,574	2,133,413	976,897	260,752

The rate of population change for the various scenarios depends on the size and demographic composition of the influx of immigrants, and the differential rates of fertility. The following projections are based on the highest scenario, i.e., amnesty/guestworker increases.

Both the Asian and the Mexican or Mexican ancestry population constitute a large share of the post-70 and continuing immigrant influx as well as potential amnesty beneficiaries, and this population on average has larger than replacement family size. The result is that both are projected to show the largest amount and rate of increase over the next 45 years. Our projection is that both segments of the population will increase rapidly: Asians by 258 percent and Mexicans by about 328 percent. Asians are projected to add nearly 704,000 residents, and Mexicans an additional nearly 865,000. Other Hispanics are projected to rise by about 228 percent and add more than 262,000 residents.

Blacks and non-Hispanic whites over the next 45 years have the smallest rates of projected increase. Non-Hispanic whites increase by about 378,000 persons (less than 5%), and blacks by about 691,000 persons, which would be a 48 percent increase.

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Michigan: General Data

Refugee Settlement

Michigan has received 18,161 refugees over the most recent ten fiscal years (FY'97-'06) including 726 persons in FY’06.

Under the Office of Refugee Resettlement's (HHS/ORR) assistance funding for FY'02 $2,296,916 is available for refugee employment training and other services programs in Michigan based on a three-year refugee settlement program covering 9,152 refugees (an average of $251 per refugee). This allocation does not include a larger share (55%) of funding programs for communities heavily affected by recent Cuban and Haitian entrants, communities with refugees whose cultural differences make assimilation especially difficult, communities impacted by federal welfare reform changes, educational support to schools with significant refugee students, and discretionary grants. ORR grants for FY’05 and FY’06 respectively were $8,997,974 and $8,605,552..

LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY STUDENTS

Data are not available nationally on immigrant students (either legally or illegally resident in the United States) who are enrolled in primary and secondary schools (K-12). However, many of these students are enrolled in Limited English Proficiency/English Language Learning (LEP/ELL) instruction programs. Many may be U.S.-born, but the majority of these students may be assumed to be either immigrants or the children of immigrants, with the exception being areas with native Americans who speak a native language other than English.

In Alabama, overall enrollment in 2002 (1,733,900) was 0.2 percent below enrollment in 1993. By contrast, LEP enrollment (47,252 - 2.7% of all enrollment) was 26.8 percent higher than a decade earlier.

Data on enrollment in LEP/ELL programs are collected by the federal government from school systems that receive Title VII funds for these special instruction programs. The data on LEP/ELL enrollment are understated because data from private schools that do not apply for Title VII assistance are sketchy.

FOREIGN STUDENTS

The 2006/07 annual report of the Institute of International Education (IIE) lists the number of foreign students attending post-secondary school in Michigan as 21,143. Five schools in Michigan are listed as having a major concentration of these students:

• University of Michigan-Ann Harbor had enrollment of 5,429 foreign students, 13.6% of total enrollment.
• Michigan State University had enrollment of 3,968 foreign students, 8.7% of total enrollment.
• Wayne State University had enrollment of 3,362 foreign students, 10.1% of total enrollment.
• Western Michigan Univeristyhad enrollment of 1,391 foreign students, 5.6% of total enrollment.
• Eastern Michigan Univeristyhad enrollment of 1,009 foreign students, 4.3% of total enrollment.

Below, a chart illustrates the sharp increase of foreign students attending school in Michigan from 1960-2000.

For information on foreign student issues see: Foreign Students in the United States.

According to Michigan senator Spencer Abraham (R), the United States is subsidizing the education of foreign-born students at the nation's colleges. "They come here on our money to learn, and then we force them to leave," he said. "It doesn't make sense." [The context of the comment was that we should be giving these foreign students access to American jobs along with their American fellow students.] (Source: The Grand Rapids Press, April 11, 2000)

ILLEGAL ALIENS

FAIR Estimate - FAIR estimates the state’s illegal alien population as of 2008 is as many as 125,000 persons. This is part of an overall estimate of the U.S. illegal alien population of about 13 million persons.

INS/DHS Estimate - The INS (now dissolved into the Dept. of Homeland Security) estimated in February 2003 that the resident illegal population in Michigan was 70,000 as of January 2000. This number 33,000 higher than the INS' 1996 estimate.

Other Estimates - The Pew Hispanic Center estimates the illegal alien population of the state at 100,000 to 150,000 as of 2005.

COSTS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS

Incarceration Costs - Michigan has received partial compensation under the federal State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) that was established in 1994 to compensate the states and local jurisdictions for incarceration of "undocumented," aliens who are serving time for a felony conviction or at least two misdemeanors.

The recent SCAAP amounts that Michigan has received were:

The amount of SCAAP awards has been declining in both total distributions and even more as a share of the state’s expenses. In FY’99 the state received 38.6% of its costs for 405 prisoner years of detention. By FY’02, the state’s reported illegal alien detention increased by 72 percent to 697 prisoner years, while compensation decreased by 25 percent, and then fell sharply.

Medical Costs - Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, hospitals with emergency rooms are required to treat and stabilize patients with emergency medical needs regardless whether or not they are in the country legally or whether they are able to pay for the treatment. Congress in 2003 enacted an appropriation of $250 million per year (for 4 years) to help offset some of the costs due to use of this service by illegal aliens. This amount has been allocated among the states based upon estimates of the illegal alien population and data on the apprehension of illegal aliens in each state. This amount compensates only a fraction of the medical outlays. For Michigan, the proposed payment in fiscal year 2004 is $1,669,285.

Educational Costs - In our study Breaking the Piggy Bank: How Illegal Immigration is Sending Schools into the Red, we estimated based on 2004 data that educational expenditures for illegal immigration were costing the Michigan taxpayer $324.9 million dollars annually. This cost was partially for educating students who were themselves illegally in the country ($135.4 million) and in part for the education of their siblings born in the United States to illegal residents ($189.5 million).

Projected Fiscal Costs - In 2006 we estimated that Michigan taxpayers are currently burdened with annual costs of about $394 million because of illegal aliens residing in the state. That estimate was based on only expenditures for education, emergency medical care and incarceration. We projected that those costs will rise unless we gain control over our borders and our worksites. If a new amnesty and increases in immigrants and guest workers were enacted, as proposed by business and ethnic advocacy groups, we project that the cost to the state’s taxpayers for those same programs would rise to $656 million per year in 2010 and to $1.111 billion per year in 2020.

LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS

You can view a listing of local immigration reform groups here.

STATE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION VOTING RECORD

You can now access the voting record of your representatives in Congress regarding immigration issues in our voting report section.

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Michigan : Immigrant Admissions

Michigan Immigrant Admissions by Fiscal Year
1997	14,727
1998	13,943
1999	13,650
2000	16,773
2001	21,528
2002	21, 787
2003	13,515
2004	18,334
2005	23,597
2006	20,911
Total	178,765

Recent immigrant admissions have slightly increased by 101 percent since adoption of the current immigration system in 1965. During the 1965-'69 period, annual admissions averaged about 9,755 immigrants. During the 2002-'06 period, admissions averaged about 19,630 immigrants.

The charts below show recent immigrant admissions and the cumulative INS immigrant admissions data since 1965. The number of annual admissions has ranged from 7,975 in FY'66 to 23,597 in FY'05. The cumulative total of admissions to Michigan between fiscal years 1965 and 2006 was 522,840 immigrants.

The data for fiscal years 1989-91 were artificially raised by the inclusion of former illegal aliens who were amnestied in 1986. According to INS data (1991) the number of amnesty applicants from Michigan was 6,845 (2,475 pre-1982 residents and 4,370 agricultural workers).

The data for FY'95 and FY'97-'99 were artificially low because the INS did not issue green cards to all the eligible applicants for adjustment of status who were already in the United States. In those four years, new immigration could have registered as much as 30 percent higher, if the INS had kept up with its workload.

Beginning with FY'01, the INS began to increase admissions as a result of reducing the size of the backlog of Section 245(i) adjustment of status cases, i.e., amnesty, for illegal aliens.

INS DATA BY NATIONALITY: FY'93 - FY'02

The INS data below are furnished for nationals of the countries with the largest number of immigrants admitted or adjusted to legal residence each year since 1993. The absence of data means that the total number of admissions to the United States by nationals of that country was not enough to merit detailed reporting in that year.

The nationalities may change each year, so the totals in some cases will not reflect all the immigrants of that nationality who have become legal immigrants in Wyomingduring this period.

The Department of Homeland Security website has detailed data on immigrant admissions since FY’03 by year and by country. (See http://www.dhs.gov/ximgtn/statistics/data/dslpr.shtm).

The 31 nationalities above represent three-fifths (60.7%) of all immigrant settlement and adjustment in Michigan during this ten-year period. The countries that supplied the greatest number of Michigan's new immigrants during the period were India, Mexico, China, Canada and the former Soviet Union. Taken together, immigrants from those countries account for nearly one-third (32.6%) of total admissions.  

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Michigan: Immigration Impact

State Population (2006 CB estimate)	10,095,643
State Population in 2000	9,956,689
Average Annual Change 2000-2006	0.2%
Foreign Born Population 2006 1	651,060
Foreign Born Share 2006	6.4%
Foreign Born Population 2000	523,589
Foreign Born Share 2000	5.3%
Average Annual Change 2000-2006	3.9%
Population Projection 2010	10.4 million
Population Projection 2025	10.7 million
Population Projection 2050 (FAIR)	12.7 million

All numbers are from the U.S. Census Bureau unless otherwise note. Additional Census Bureau, INS, and other immigration-related data are available for Michigan.

Population Change

Michigan’s population increased by 7.1 percent between 1990 and 2000, and by 1.4 percent between 2000 and 2006, bringing Michigan total population to approximately million.

Approximately 92 percent of the total population increase between 2000 and 2006 in Michigan was directly attributable to immigrants.

FAIR estimates the illegal alien population in 2005 at 124,000 which ranks sixteenth in the U.S. for the FAIR estimate. This number is 77 percent above the U.S. government estimate of 70,000 in 2000, and 439 percent above the 1990 estimate of 23,000.

According to an estimate of the Pew Hispanic Center, in 2005 there were an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 illegal aliens living in Michigan This estimate ranks 19th among illegal alien populations in the United States for the PEW estimate.²

FAIR estimates in 2004 that the taxpayers of Michigan spent $324.9 million per year on illegal aliens and their children in public schools.³

FAIR’s projected annual fiscal costs to Michigan taxpayers for emergency medical care, education and incarceration resulting if an amnesty is adopted for illegal residents.
Current	2010	2020
$394,000,000	$656,000,000	$1,111,000,000

Population Profile

Foreign-Born Population

Environmental and Quality of Life Profile

Education: Between 2000 and 2006 the K-12 student of Michigan’s schools increased by over 16,000 (9.4 percent). ⁷, ⁸

Berrien, Livingston, and Monroe counties all have badly overcrowded schools and have struggled with bond issues to fund repairs on the overtaxed school buildings.⁹ Of Detroit’s suburban school districts, 37 out of 88 had double-digit enrollment growth between 1992 and 2000; Walled Lake District, for examples, has built six new schools and expanded every existing one twice over the last decade and expects to add an additional 4,000 students over the next 15 years.¹⁰ The growth in the foreign-born population puts special strains on schools with significant numbers of limited-English-proficient students; in Dearborn schools, for example, one of out every three students is has limited English proficiency.¹¹ Michigan’s student-teacher ratio of 17.4 ranks 44th in the U.S. ¹²

Water: Even at the center of the Great Lakes basin, the state of Michigan has been forced to deal with water issues as a result of a rising population. Massive urban sprawl in the Detroit area has magnified the task of providing enough water to slake the public’s growing thirst. As a result, prices have begun to sky-rocket.

Between 2000 and 2006, Michigan saw an increase of 14.3 percent in its foreign-born population.¹³ This was much greater than a 0.9 percent growth in the native-born population (which also includes births to immigrant parents). When the U.S.-born children of the immigrants are included, immigrants account for all of the state’s growth during this time period.¹⁴ By 2050, Michigan’s population is expected to rise from 10.1 million to over 12.1 million.15 Michigan currently has a per-capita water usage of 115 gallons per day.¹⁶ This means that by 2050, an additional 233 million gallons of water may be needed each day.

This year water rates will rise an average 8.5 percent in Detroit’s suburbs and 6.3 percent in the city. With sewer rates also rising, the combined rates will leap 7.2 percent in the suburbs and 8.8 percent for Detroit customers. These hikes come on top of similar leaps in price last year, “when suburban customers faced a 3.9 percent combined increase, while Detroiters felt a 9.3 percent hike,” said George Ellenwood, spokesman of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.¹⁷

The city water department claims that it must raise rates to update the system, whose operating costs for a year are estimated at $341 million. Ellenwood said that the system is in the midst of a five-year, $3 billion capital improvement, which is needed to consolidate water service to all of the outlying communities.¹⁸

Many impoverished city residents were unable to pay the higher water prices. “Water service was cut off to more than 40,000 Detroit residences last year, making those homes uninhabitable.¹⁹ This escalating cost of water undoubtedly contributed to Michigan’s current rank of seventh among states for the highest number of home foreclosures. Detroit ranks sixth among cities in the same category.²⁰

Additionally, Michigan and other neighboring states have been forced to begin defending the Great Lake waters around them, as these resources have been eyed greedily by other parts of the country, which face water shortages. "The Great Lakes are our Grand Canyon. It's our resource to protect, it's the backbone of the region," said Joel Brammeier, vice president for policy at the Alliance for the Great Lakes. Brammeier continued to profess his fear of “a thousand straws sipping into the lake." "We don't want to go there,” he added “because that could have an impact."²¹

Traffic: As population growth put more traffic on the roads, the average commute for Michigan residents increased seven percent during the 1990s, from 21 minutes to 23 minutes in 2000.²²,²³ 29% of Michigan's major urban roads are congested and 38% of Michigan's major roads are in poor or mediocre condition. Vehicle travel on Michigan's highways increased 24% from 1990 to 2003. Driving on roads in need of repair costs Michigan motorists $2.1 billion a year in extra vehicle repairs and operating costs --- $294 per motorist. ²⁴

Congestion in the Detroit metropolitan area costs commuters $939 per person per year in excess fuel and lost time, and congestion in the Grand Rapids area costs commuters $360 per person per year in excess fuel and lost time.²⁵ The annual delay of travelers in Detroit was 57 hours in 2003 (ranking 7th in the U.S.), and the annual delay in the Toledo, OH-MI area was 12 hours. ²⁶ 13 percent of commuters in Michigan have a commute that is 45 minutes or more. ²⁷

According to the Michigan Department of Transportation, clogged roadways in southeast Michigan are damaging the economy of the state.²⁸ According to the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, traffic problems will worsen severely over the next 30 years as the population in some area communities swells by over 40 percent. ²⁹ One civil commented that “Roads are so bad; visitors to the area have joked about ‘accidentally renting a car with square tires’ on local radio stations.” ³⁰

Disappearing open space: Each year, Michigan loses 72,800 acres of open space and farmland due to development.³¹ The amount of land developed in metro Detroit increase by nearly 30 percent between 1982 and 1997. The areas around the Great Lakes have suffered a 50 percent loss of coastal wetlands due to development.³²

Between 1.5 and 2 million acres of land will be converted to commercial, residential, and industrial land by the year 2020. 10% of Michigan’s land is currently developed, but built of developed areas are projected to increase by 178% by 2040. Forest loss is expected to be the greatest in southern Michigan, where 13% may be gone by 2020 and 25% lost to development by 2040. Decreases in 17 species of Michigan birds have been attributed to deforestation in Michigan. ³³

Michigan averages a loss of approximately 38,900 acres of farmland per year due to development and low density fragmentation. Michigan ranks 9th in the top 10 states for farmland loss due to development, according to the American Farmland Trust. ³⁴

Crowded housing: Over 60,000 Michigan households were defined as crowded or severely crowded in 2005. ³⁵ Studies show that a rise in crowded housing often correlates with an increase in the number of foreign-born.³⁶, ³⁷ Michigan housing inspectors have had to close down employer-provided housing with as many as 26 immigrant men living together in one apartment and using one bathroom.³⁸

Sprawl: According to a report from the Michigan Environmental Council, urban sprawl and decay are threatening native habitats and air and water, and the state’s trends in land-use are among the worst in the region.³⁹ Sprawl has become such an issue in Michigan that the issue is credited with the election of new Governor Jennifer Grahholm, who has sworn to stop its spread.⁴⁰ State Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema says, “Land use is one of the top issues confronting the state. Uncontrolled growth has huge fiscal impacts in new highways, new schools, and new water pipes.” ⁴¹

Air pollution: As population increases, pollution usually rises along with it. The Sierra Club graded Michigan’s major metropolitan areas like Detroit and Grand Rapids with a D-minus for smog and auto pollution driven by sprawl.⁴² The EPA estimates that several Michigan areas will not meet its air quality standards within the 2004 deadline, including Flint-Saginaw, metro Detroit. ⁴³

19 of Michigan’s 83 counties received a grade of “F” from the American Lung Association’s “State of the Air 2005” report. ⁴⁴ In 2001 Michigan ranked ninth in the nation for enegy consumption, and this large demand has led to the burning of fossil fuels for energy. The burning of fossil fuels contributes to air and water pollution, acid rain, and climate change. Coal fired power plants are responsible for the majority of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide releases, which has the adverse effects of asthma and other health problems for residents. ⁴⁵

Poverty: 16.2 percent of immigrants in Michigan have incomes below the poverty level, and increase of 41 percent since 2000. Among non-citizens, the poverty rate climbs to 20.3 percent. ⁴⁶ Detroit, a magnet for immigration, has the fourth highest poverty rate among large U.S. cities.⁴⁷ Large-scale immigration tends to increase the gap between rich and poor; between 1990 and 2000, income disparity grew in 56 of the state’s 83 counties, and by 14 percent in Michigan’s Cheboygan County, 11 percent in Luce County, and 11 percent in Alcona County.⁴⁸

Solid Waste: Michigan generates 1.68 tons of solid waste per capita. ⁴⁹

Endnotes:

1. FAIR estimate based on the 2006 Current Population Survey.
2. "Estimates of the Unauthorized Migrant Population for States based on the March 2005 CPS", Pew Hispanic Center.
3. Martin, Jack. “Breaking the Piggy Bank: How Illegal Immigration is Sending Schools into the Red,” A Report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
4. Joseph Altman, “Hamtramck, Highland Park: So Close Yet So Different,” Associated Press, April 17, 2001.
5. John Flesher, “Michigan Slowly Preparing to Deal with Spanish Speakers,” Associated Press, July 13, 2002.
6. “English-Limited Residents Increase in Michigan,” Associated Press, October 2, 2002.
7. "Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools and Districts: School Year 1999-2000," National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
8. "Public Elementary and Secondary School Student Enrollment, High School Completions, and Staff From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2005-06', National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, June 2007.
9. Alexandra R. Moses, “Challenges in the Classroom; Overcrowded schools Put Strain on Teachers, Facilities,” Associated Press, October 21, 2001.
10. “Student Population Booming in Detroit-Area Districts,” Associated Press, April 30, 2001.
11. Brad Heath, “More in Metro Detroit Unable to Speak English,” Detroit News, October 2, 2002.
12. "Public Elementary and Secondary School Student Enrollment, High School Completions, and Staff From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2005-06', National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, June 2007
13. U.S. Census Bureau 2006
14. Jack Martin. Issue Brief: Estimation of Foreign Born Birthrate. FAIR. 2008
15. Jack Martin and Stanley Fogel. “Predicting the U.S. Population to 2050.” FAIR. March 2006.
16. U.S. Geological Survey 2000.
17. Christina Stolarz, Robert Snell and Christine MacDonald, “Water, Sewer Rates to Rise,” Detroit News, May 7, 2008.
18. David Josar, Jim Lynch and Christine Ferretti, “Metro Detroit Water Rates to Soar,” Detroit News, December 11, 2007.
19. Cheryl LaBash, “Cynthia McKinney Supports Fight for Water,” Workers World, May 15, 2008.
20. Greta Guest, “Detroit Area’s Housing Market Shows More Signs of Life,” Detroit Free Press, April 29, 2008.
21. Tim Jones, “Midwest’s Message: Hands off Our Lakes,” Chicago Tribune, May 27, 2008.
22. “Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000,” Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau
23. “Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 1990,” 1990 Census, U.S. Census Bureau.
24. Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers.
25. Ibid
26. "The 2005 Urban Mobility Report", Texas Transportation Institute.
27. “U.S. Population 2007 Data Sheet,” Population Reference Bureau.
28. Kathleen Gray, “Michigan Transportation Official Says Clogged Roads Are Hurting Economy,” Detroit Free Press, October 31, 2001.
29. George Hunter, “Growth Trend Project for Newer Communities,” Detroit News, September 25, 2001.
30. Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers.
31. “State Rankings by Acreage and Rate of Non-Federal Land Developed,” Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture
32. Michael Kilian, op.cit
33. “U.S. State Reports on Population and the Environment: Michigan,” Center for Environment and Population.
34. Ibid
35. Selected Housing Characteristics: 2005 Data Set - 2005 American Community Survey, American Fact Finder, U.S. Census Bureau.
36. Haya El Nasser, “U.S. Neighborhoods Grow More Crowded,” USA Today, July 7, 2002.
37. Randy Capps, “Hardship Among Children of Immigrants: Findings from the 1999 National Survey of America’s Families,” Urban Institute, 2001.
38. Sally Tato, “Pontiac, Mich., Migrant Workers Get New Lodgings,” Detroit Free Press, August 1, 2002.
39. Malcolm Johnson, “Environmental report grades states on environmental records,” Associated Press, April 11, 2002.
40. Keith Scheieder, “Michigan New Leader in U.S. Movement to Tame Sprawl,” Grand Lakes Bulletin News Service, February 9, 2003.
41. “Environmental Group Flunks Michigan Cities,” Malcolm Johnson, Associated Press, November 13, 2001.
42. “Some Michigan Counties May Not Meet Air Quality Standards,” Associated Press, April 8, 2002.
43. State of the Air 2005: Michigan”, American Lung Association.
44. “U.S. State Reports on Population and the Environment: Michigan,” Center for Environment and Population.
45. “Michigan State Factsheet,” Migration Information Source, Migration Policy Institute.
46. Shawn Windsor, “Census Finds Michigan Felt 1990s Boom; Poverty Declined,” Detroit Free Press, June 3, 2002.
47. James Prichard, “Gap Between Michigan’s Rich and Poor Widens,” Associated Press, September 9, 2002.
48. Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers.

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