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Immigrant Population Jumps 31 Percent in 4 Years

Posted on: Tuesday, 22 February 2005, 18:00 CST

Feb. 22--Lelia Lupianez studied architecture in Nicaragua but couldn't find graduate-level programs there. So she arrived at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's architecture school a little over four years ago, earned a master's degree, and then landed a job at Milwaukee's Uihlein Wilson Architects.

Like a rapidly growing number of foreign-born residents, she now calls Wisconsin home.

"I like Wisconsin a lot," said Lupianez, 27. "It's very safe, and peaceful, but yet there is a lot to do."

The state's foreign-born population has risen 31 percent since 2000, far outpacing the 10.1 percent rate of the nation as a whole but still representing a tiny segment of the U.S. immigrant population, according to new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Jobs and family ties are most likely the primary attractions for the influx of foreign-born residents, who nonetheless lag behind U.S.-born Wisconsinites in education and income.

In 2004, Wisconsin had about 253,800 residents who were born in other countries, according to census estimates. That's up from the 193,751 who were counted in the 2000 Census. The foreign-born, many of whom arrived as refugees in Wisconsin, now make up about 4.7 percent of the total population, up from 3.6 percent in 2000.

The 60,000 foreign-born residents who have arrived since 2000 would equal a city almost the size of West Allis.

The region defined as Central America -- which, according to the Census Bureau, includes Mexico -- was the top source, accounting for 48 percent of Wisconsin's foreign-born population in 2004. Asia and Europe accounted for 27 percent and 17 percent respectively. In 2000, it was Asia (32 percent), then Central America (30 percent) and Europe (27 percent). Wisconsin also has seen growth in its populations from Russia and Africa.

The United States overall saw a 10.1 percent increase in foreign-born residents, a jump from 31.1 million in 2000 to 34.2 million in 2004, according to the Census Bureau. From 2003 to 2004, the estimated foreign-born population rose 2.3 percent, according to a report being released today. But the census figures are likely incomplete.

"The big unknown in this is what percent of the total foreign-born are documented versus undocumented," said Enrique Figueroa, director of Roberto Hernandez Center at UWM. "Nobody can really give a good estimate of what the total undocumented is. They are an underground population."

Population watchers said that while many of the foreign-born may come directly to Wisconsin from other countries, the state might not be the first stop for many others.

"I'd guess we're beginning to outpace the U.S. in increases because our economy has been doing better than the rest of the United States for the last couple of years," said Terry Ludeman, chief economist with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. "So my guess is what you're seeing is a moderate redistribution of the foreign-born population."

For instance, Chicago and Minnesota's Twin Cities are helping to fuel the growth of foreign-born residents in Wisconsin, he said. Highly educated immigrants who work in those metropolitan areas may decide to live in Wisconsin's northwest corridor, and in Kenosha and Walworth counties, Ludeman said.

The immigration trend is likely to continue because Wisconsin's unemployment rate is dropping and will likely keep dropping. In 2004, it was 4.9 percent, down from 5.6 percent in 2003, Ludeman added.

There could be a growing shortage of workers, especially if the jobs offer low wages, he said.

"We also have quite a bit of leisure and hospitality industry in Wisconsin," Ludeman said. "Those jobs oftentimes will not be taken by our own population because they pay too little. Go to the Wisconsin Dells and you'll see a fairly sizable population of Mexicans. There's a turkey farm up in Barron County with (about 200) Somalis."

Many immigrant populations tend to cluster together thanks to family ties and word of mouth in their communities.

This is certainly true for the state's Hmong population, which numbers some 50,000, many of whom arrived through refugee resettlement. The Hmong, an Asian population, are largely concentrated in three states: California, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Although the new census estimates do not break down the increase in the state's Hmong population, they do show that the number of Wisconsinites born in Asia has grown from 62,762, in 2000 to 68,200 in 2004 -- a 9 percent increase.

Years ago, Wisconsin was a favored destination for many Hmong because of its welfare system, but the Wisconsin Works program, which dramatically limited the benefits, has pushed more Hmong to find jobs, said Lo Neng Kiatoukaysy, executive director of the Hmong American Friendship Association.

Now, Wisconsin is a magnet for Hmong looking for work.

Kiatoukaysy said it appears an increasing number of Minnesota's Hmong are eyeing Wisconsin, especially Milwaukee, as a more affordable place to live. It helps that many already have relatives here, but increasingly, Wisconsin is "viewed as virgin territory because there's not that much Hmong business here," he said.

There's also less intense competition for Hmong businesses in Wisconsin because the state's Hmong population is more spread out than in Minnesota, where some 25,000 Hmong live in St. Paul, Kiatoukaysy said.

Ludeman said the movement of immigrants to the state doesn't make up for the out-migration of educated, native-born Wisconsinites leaving for better-paying jobs in other states -- the so-called "brain drain."

That's because the immigrants who arrive tend not to be as educated or economically well-off.

The 2003 median household income for Wisconsin families headed by those born in the United States was estimated at $46,000; for foreign-born state residents, it was $30,000. Almost 16 percent of the foreign born live below the poverty line, vs. 10 percent of U.S.-born Wisconsin residents.

While about one-fourth of U.S.-born adults in the state have a bachelor's degree or higher, just 17.6 percent of the foreign-born fall in that category. Nine out of 10 Wisconsin adults over age 25 who were born in the United States have at least a high school degree. It's about six out of 10 for the foreign-born.

Similar trends hold true on the national level.

Georgia Pabst of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this article.

FOREIGN-BORN MILWAUKEEANS -- A POPULATION ON THE RISE

34.2 million: Estimated foreign-born population of the United States in 2004.

31.1 million: Foreign-born U.S. population in 2000.

10.1 percent: Percentage increase in the U.S.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

BY THE NUMBERS

253,800: Estimated foreign-born population in Wisconsin in 2004

193,751: Wisconsin's foreign-born population in 2000

31 percent: Percentage increase in Wisconsin

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(c) 2005, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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