Detroit billionaire Dan Gilbert is pushing for more immigration to grow Michigan’s economy, aligning with state and federal officials who are already working to bring in thousands over the next year.

Gilbert, founder of Detroit-based Rocket Companies, told the Detroit Economic Club on Friday that his “number one” policy issue centers on attracting and retaining more talent in Southeast Michigan, noting many flee the state as soon as they land a degree, Crain’s Detroit Business reports.

“It’s absolutely absurd that thousands and thousands of … our kids graduate from Michigan, Michigan State, Wayne State and all over the state,” only to move after graduation, Gilbert said. “Lot of taxpayer dollars, and certainly a lot of mom and dad dollars invested in their children, only for cities like Chicago, New York, Boston, L.A. and Seattle benefit from it. It’s nuts.”

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“If you don’t grow population you’re in big trouble,” he told roughly 375 who attended the 40-minute talk at The Icon on the Detroit Riverfront.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Growing Michigan Together Council issued a report in December that details the impact of the state’s declining share of the U.S. population and median household income, and how despite a relatively low cost of living, “we lack the vibrant amenities and housing to attract and retain young talent to our cities.”

In Detroit, Gilbert suggested solutions.

“If you look at any economy in the world, countries that are losing population are in dire straits, and countries are like that, states are like that, cities are like that,” he said. “And it’s not just the kids. I think we gotta figure out another way – through immigration – other ways to get more people to Detroit.”

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Gilbert also pointed to the growing popularity of Detroit’s QLine streetcar along Woodward Avenue, and how expanding it into a “regional transportation (system) going to the airport, back from the airport, east to west, north to south,” could “completely change this region.

“The economic boom would be the biggest one we’ve ever seen in this area,” he said, according to Crain’s.

Gilbert’s focus on immigration to solve Michigan’s population decline and talent shortage is outlined in the Growing Michigan Together Council’s focus on courting immigrants and creating “an immigrant-inclusive economy.”

The council’s report, which features quotes from Gilbert on the issue, notes the state’s 700,000 international immigrants represents 7% of the Michigan population, and the immigrant population is expected to grow by 630,000 more by 2050. On the other end, Michigan is currently losing about 5,600 postgraduates per year, according to the report.

Metro Detroit agencies are now bracing for “peak numbers of refugees” to fulfill the immigration plan promoted by Gilbert and the Whitmer administration, and experts predict it will have a serious impact on the state’s existing housing shortage.

As part of a White House goal of admitting up to 125,000 refugees to the United States this fiscal year, Michigan is expected to receive more than 4,400 refugees and special immigrant visa holders by the end of September.

Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity data shows the state took in 2,915 refugees from 39 countries so far this fiscal year, and local agencies that work to resettle them expect thousands more over the next year, Bridge Detroit reports.

“We’re at peak numbers of refugees that we are welcoming into our care,” Kelli Dobner, Samaritas’ chief growth officer, told Bridge. Dobner expects a 14% increase in refugees next fiscal year, when it plans to help resettle 2,000 from countries including Afghanistan, Ukraine, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burma, Guatemala and Iran.

At Dearborn-based U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, officials expect to serve 625 this fiscal year, and another 700 next year. In 2023, the nonprofit served 315, director Towfik Alazem told the news site.

“A lot of refugees … were, for the last many years, hoping to come and arrive and get approved,” Alazem said, noting the Biden-Harris goal directive in September changed that dynamic. “And recently, we see larger numbers of refugees being approved to travel and come to the United States.”

Many immigrants coming in are expected to utilize a Newcomer Rental Subsidy program approved by Democrats and Whitmer last year that provides up to $600 per month for a year for “asylum seekers” to secure housing. Republicans who are outnumbered in both chambers of the state Legislature have questioned the program, and eligibility loopholes they suggest could allow illegal immigrants who have filed defensive asylum claims to avoid deportation into the program.

Michiganders, meanwhile, continue to struggle as the state works to address a shortage of 140,000 homes.

“We definitely recognize that there’s a housing crisis in Michigan, and we’re working to build more affordable housing at all price points for people throughout Michigan,” Kelly Rose, chief operating officer for the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, told Bridge. “Because we know from our most vulnerable citizens, who need permanent supportive housing, and people experiencing homelessness, up to middle income families – it’s tough to find an affordable home out there.”

The immigrant rental subsidies come from $5 million in tax dollars from those struggling families, along with $6.5 million from the Biden administration.

Democrats have also approved spending $738,000 in tax dollars to “support newcomer integration” through grants to “ethnic and community based organizations” that cater to immigrants and refugees, $1 million to cover the legal fees of “asylum seekers,” and $6.4 million in additional Medicaid benefits for refugees and other immigrants.

Those efforts, according to the Whitmer administration, are aimed at ensuring Michigan is “the state of choice for many newcomer populations” at a time when 41% of residents are living paycheck to paycheck.