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Today's a day about Detroit's future, about job creation in the city of Detroit, and an
outstanding opportunity to show the rest of the world how innovative we can be, and how
Detroit is open to the world. What role can immigrants play in terms of economic growth
and development, and job creation? It's huge. Dow. Meijer. Masco. Each one of those huge
organizations were created by immigrants. We wouldn't have them today except for immigrant
in our country. For roughly every immigrant job with high skills coming into this country,
they create over 2 and a half additional jobs. So if you think about this for the size of
the program, put that two and a half multiplier on it and say that's the goal we should be
trying to achieve. That's incredible. My family immigrated from Mexico here in 1917 and I
never left. We've started about eight different companies. We have about 500 people that work
with us. We're in Michigan and Ohio. I talk about ideas because we invent a lot of things
and invent a lot of products, change processes, and do things. It allows us to work within
the community and work within people and to actually create lives and changes for so many.
This is about a program that over a five year period let's bring 50,000 high skilled immigrants
to Detroit. Let's create an environment where they can live and work in Detroit and create
those jobs. Right now in the state of Michigan alone, we graduate about 5,000 international
students a year. It's fabulous, but then what do we typically do after we've gone through
the process of giving them a world class education? We have a federal program that tells them
to get out. How dumb is that? Shouldn't we welcome them? Shouldn't we say please stay
and create those jobs? Create those organizations and have your fellow Americans that you've
been going to school with go to work with you! And people in the communities that you
move to such as Detroit to give them job opportunities. I came to the United states as a student visa.
I went to Purdue, I didn't go to any Michigan university if that's a- you know. I went to
Purdue, did my masters and concentration in micro technology. Got recruited by a company
in Plymouth, Michigan and that's how I ended up in Michigan. During the process, I knew
there were so many restrictions that I knew I couldn't do something outside my job because
the Visa didn't give me the flexibility, but I continually wait and I did continue to do
the homework. What would be needed when I have the opportunity to do the business. So
EB-5 categories for a lot of people who are in my stage or my future folks and my people
who are in the present category, who wants to pursue a business, who wants to pursue
a technology, who wants to pursue a engineering idea, will open the platform. This process
really works out. People like me, other people who are really interested in bringing ideas
into practicality, practicality into implementation, and implementation into manufacturing, will
get a platform. So, the concept here is 50,000 visa program over five years to focus on highly
skilled immigrants to say let's bring them to Detroit to live and work. Let's create
an environment- a success plan where then Detroiters and other Michiganders will have
the opportunity to join them in their organizations, to join them in creating related companies
and jobs and opportunities for Detroiters. Think about the power and the size of this
program about what it could do to bring back Detroit even faster and better. It's outstanding.
Let's work on reforming our immigration system. Let's start right here in Detroit with a program
that could really bring back the city of Detroit faster and better in terms of jobs for immigrants,
jobs for Detroiters, economic success, and sending the message to the entire world that
Detroit, Michigan is open to the world.