City Seeks Resident Support in Housing Immigrants During Border Crisis

(ProsperNews.net) – Officials in Michigan are asking residents to take illegal immigrants under their wing and help them integrate into American life. The state Department of Labor and Economic Development called on Great Lakes State residents to commit to helping a migrant for at least 90 days, greet them at airports, arrange initial housing, and help apply for jobs and school places.

Poppy Hernandez, Global Michigan Director and Michigan’s Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer, said the refugee resettlement program will help to turn Michigan into “the home for opportunity” for illegal migrants and “build a more welcoming and inclusive Michigan for all.”

Like many states, Michigan is overwhelmed with migrants, and in December, local media reported that shelters in Detroit were full. Freedom House Detroit, which provides beds for refugees, said it had space only for 50 people but was caring for many more, some of whom had been moved on to hotels.

The new plans are part of the “Welcome Corp,” launched by the US State Department in 2023. It encouraged Americans to form “sponsor groups” who would submit applications to become formal carers for immigrants and raise cash for their needs. The program provides training to sponsors and matches residents with migrants with shared languages or cultural backgrounds. It stopped short, however, of asking Americans to take migrants into their homes, as was requested of Massachusetts residents last year.

In August, Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, in an appeal for people to help resettle immigrants, asked residents with spare rooms to “consider hosting a family.” She did so immediately after Governor Maura Healey declared a state of emergency “due to rapid and unabated increases” in migrant numbers.

Massachusetts law requires officials to house homeless individuals, but the state found itself with at least 20,000 immigrants and a shortage of beds last year. Healey, like other Democrat leaders across the country, blamed the federal government for not doing enough to help states accommodate the new arrivals.