2. History of Immigration to Minnesota
• The very first people to migrate to Minnesota consisted of the Germans,
The Norwegians and the Swedish.
• Starting with the German Immigrants, the Germans began migrating to
the United States when the colonies still belonged to Britain. They came to
the colonies like many other Immigrant groups so seek religious freedom.
• Germans settled in various places in the state of Minnesota but the most
concentrated was located in the southern region of the state. For example
the town of New Ulm is a city that was settled by Germans and still shares
rich German culture with the state today.
3. Swedish
• Besides the factor of religious freedom that attracted so many European’s
to the colonies, the Swedish came to America for other reasons as well.
• One reason that we found why the Swedish came here is because the lack
of available land in Europe.
• Another interesting reason we found that was a push factor for migrating
to the States was that at the time, the Swedish government made it
mandatory that military service was required that you train 30 days of the
year. Since it was all young men that this effected, agriculture jobs became
more difficult and families lost money.
• The pull factor of the Swedish coming to Minnesota was the rich and
affordable farm land that was available and the high wages that
accompanied them.
4. Norwegians
• The major influence of emigration from Norway to the United states was
heavy promotion by emigration agents, newspapers, writers and early
settlers. In 1862 American consuls in Norway were urged to promote the
employment opportunities that America had to offer. One of the biggest
contributors to get Norwegians to come to America was the rail road
company who targeted the churches in Norway as a Marketing device.
• Norwegian emigration to Minnesota was not very heavy until after the
civil war. This is because following the war, The Dakota were expelled from
Minnesota which opened up much more farm land and also opened the
doors for many more Europeans.
5. Ethnic Back Grounds
• In the 2009 report “Economic Impact of Immigrants In Minnesota” we
found a useful pie graph that gave basic foreign born population percents.
These percents however were as of 2007.
• In 2007 the largest group of foreign born immigrants was 38% (Asian back
ground)
• 25% (Latin American)
• 19% (African)
• 14% (European)
• 4% was made up by “other”
6. Asian Immigration to Minnesota
• Minnesota’s Asian population nearly doubled in the 1990’s, growing close to
142,000 by 2000. According to our information about three-quarters of the
individuals were immigrants born outside of the United States.
• Among the Asian descendent people the came to the United States, the
largest group were the Hmong.
• Other countries included China, India and Korea.
• The vast majority of Hmong people however were third or second generation
citizens.
• The reason the Hmong first came to Minnesota was on the basis of being a
refugee. During the Vietnam war, Hmong villagers and farmers were recruited
by the United States to help fight the war against communism in Laos.
• More than 60,000 Hmong individuals live in Minnesota. At least half of those
individuals live in St. Paul. Making it the largest urban population of Hmong in
the world.
7. Latin Americans In Minnesota
• Latinos have been living in Minnesota for generations. The first record of
Latino residents dates back to 1860. Since the 1990 Census the state’s
Latino population has more than tripled. Increasing from about 54,000 to
more than 175,00 people in 2004.
• However the majority of Minnesota Latinos are not immigrants. 60% are
native born U.S. citizens. More than 11,000 others are naturalized citizens
• Most of the Latino population in Minnesota trace their ancestry to
Mexico. Other countries include Cuba, Puerto Rico and other central and
south American Countries. Many of the most recent Immigrants are from
Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador and Guatemala.
• According to the 2000 census, Latinos were almost evenly divided
between the core cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul.
8. Why the Latinos Came to Minnesota
• Like most Immigrants, Latinos came to the United States in search of a
better life for themselves and their families. Minnesota however offers
more opportunities for work and education than their home countries.
• Another huge reason that is pretty consistent with most Latino Immigrants
anywhere in the United States is to support their family members still
living in their country of origin.
9. Africans In Minnesota
• In 1990, fewer than 5,000 Minnesota residents had been born in Africa.
Ten years later, that figure has increased to more than 34,000
• By 2002 nearly 9,000 additional immigrants arrived in Minnesota directly
from various African nations.
• * 13% of Minnesota’s foreign born residents in the 2000 census were from
Africa (higher percentage than any other state in the country)
• Most of these individuals have come to The unites states as refugees
fleeing civil wars in Liberia, Somalia and Sudan.
10. Why Africans Came to Minnesota
• In 1960 Somalia gained its independence. After this the next three
decades consisted of blood civil wars. Famine, food shortages, droughts
forced more than a million Somalis to seek refuge in neighboring
countries.
• Most Somalis who now live in Minnesota came to the United states as
refugees, about one third of Minnesota’s Somali residents came directly
from refugee camps.
• Also the availability of unskilled jobs that don’t require English fluency or
literacy was another large factor of attracting Africans to Minnesota.
11. Economic Impact
• Immigrant Owned businesses generated 331 million dollars in net income
to the state of Minnesota alone in 2000.
*Hispanic owned firms in the state have grown 350% since 1990.
*If immigrants were removed from the labor force, Minnesota would loose
over 24,000 permanent jobs and 1.2 in personal income.
(Economic Impact by Each Immigrant group)
12. Latino Economic Impact
• Latinos are generating new services and tax dollars for Minnesota through
entrepreneurial and economic development which all results in expanding
Minnesota’s workforce.
• A great example of Latino economic impact can be used by looking at East
Lake street in Minneapolis. This street used to be a downward spiraling
business corridor. A Latino cooperative shopping and cultural center has
put tons of money in renovating the street and now more than 200 Latino
businesses are located on the strip.
• On another note, more than 1,000 Mexican American businesses alone
operate in Minnesota generating an estimated 200 million in sales.
13. Asian Economic Impact
• The website that I used the most suggested that since Asian culture
families are quite large and close-knit that this often provides a
cooperative path to economic stability and achievement and
advancement.
• Focusing on Hmong families in St. Paul now, I found that Hmong people,
after building up equity, the family can spread out and extended their
financial base. This approach has resulted in relatively high
homeownership rates for Hmong Minnesotans and is significantly higher
than other immigrant groups.
• Revenue generated from Hmong companies in Minnesota is estimated at
more than 100 Million
14. African Economic Impact
• Since the resettlement of Somali refugees in Minnesota that began as
recently as the mid 1990’s, the economic impact of this population is
growing on a smaller scale than that of any other established immigrant
group.
• Somali influence on Minnesota’s economy primarily includes filling
positions that don’t require strong English skills. Providing businesses and
services to other Somali immigrants and a variety of entrepreneurial
efforts.
• Like Latinos a majority of Somali businesses can be found on lake street
and according to the web site I found the information off of, they account
for 120 stores on the strip.
