The Role of Cities in Immigrant Integration

My week in Berlin continues, as I was walking around the Alexanderplatz I happened to run into a protest of some refugees and recorded a bit of it:

The protest was of particular interest because I'm working on issues related to migrants in Europe, including attending the Cities of Migration conference. This conference focuses on the role of cities in the integration of migrants, and we started with a reception a the Canadian Embassy on Wednesday, June 4th.  Cities of Migration is based in Toronto, Canada. Our first speaker brought in a global perspective, Khalid Koser spoke about the recent Global Migration and Development Forum in Sweden and that these meetings tend to be far too general, compared to a focus on cities that are sharing best practices.  He noted that cities have the potential to make a difference in the discourses around migration, promoting an objective debate and engaging the business sector.

One of the more interesting panels was a group of mayors (and a city council member from Detroit). The entire conference is very pro-immigration, but it was clear that at the city level there are needs that don't get translated into national level legislation. Detroit's mayor has called for bringing in 50,000 skilled migrants in the next 5 years in the face of unemployment being at 30%.  One important point made by Council Member Raquel Casteneda-Lopez was that the definition of skilled migrants needs to be broadened - for example, some construction jobs require high levels of technical ability and those who are qualified should be considered skilled workers. The Mayor of Hamburg, Olaf Scholz has been sending letters encouraging migrants who are eligible for citizenship to apply. This led to a significant increase in naturalizations in Hamburg. Many cities have created "welcome centers" for migrants, basically one-stop shops where they can apply for benefits, get information on educational opportunities, etc.

I appreciated the remarks of Rita Suessmuth who was instrumental in getting immigration legislation passed in Germany. She emphasized that integration is a two-way street and that all humans have skills, it is up to society to tap into those skills so that they can develop their potential. Some other highlights of the conference included a speech by Naika Foroutan who is working on issues of immigrant integration in Germany and is the vice-director of the Berlin Institute for Empirical Research on Integration and Migration (BIM) at Humboldt University. Doug Saunders talked about his experience with arrival cities, he has also written a book on the topic. He notes that some neighborhoods are set up in a way that encourage immigrant success, while others may set up hurdles.  The day ended with a debate about the possibility of soccer (football) playing a role in ending racism.