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Office of Global Michigan details refugee services, language-access duties and talent attraction work
Summary
Deputy Director Ben Cavanaugh described the Office—s federally funded refugee resettlement programs, administration of commissions for immigrant communities, and its role under recent state law to coordinate language access across state agencies.
The committee heard from the Office of Global Michigan about the state—s refugee resettlement, community advisory commissions and a new responsibility to coordinate language access across state agencies.
Ben Cavanaugh, Deputy Director for the Office of Global Michigan, told the committee the office began as the Office for New Americans in 2014 and was moved into the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity in 2019. The office is charged with immigrant integration, refugee services and talent attraction work.
"Immigrants pay annually $2,600,000,000 in state and local taxes," Cavanaugh said, adding that although immigrants make up about 7% of the state population they contribute roughly 10% of the state—s gross domestic product, figures he used to explain the economic rationale for the office.
Cavanaugh said the refugee services…
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