There is no doubt that immigrants have made an impact on the rural Midwestern towns where they have settled in the past ten years, but immigrants have also had a major impact on the urban landscape of the Twin Cities. In fact, the Twin Cities metro area was ranked fourth in immigrant growth among America’s 100 largest metro areas between 1991 and 1998, showing a 51 percent increase in foreign-born residents.

New businesses, an expanded workforce, and cultural diversity have all been a result of new immigrants moving into the metro area. New enclaves of businesses serving immigrant groups have sprouted up all over the Twin Cities, and even in some suburban communities. Many activists and community leaders see this influx of immigrants as a huge boost for the core cities. Others see new immigrants as a drain on tax dollars, mainly manifested in the need for government services.

One of the hottest areas of debate is the increasing need for services to non-English speaking students in public schools .The Minneapolis and St. Paul school districts have a long history of serving students with limited or no English language skills. In 1992, Minneapolis schools had 3160 students categorized as English language learners. Today, that number has jumped to 12,000, or 22 percent of total enrollment. It’s estimated that the extra cost in instruction for a non-English speaking student is about $1000 on top of the $9692 per year already allocated for each student.

Another trend seen in schools is a shift in the origin of many of their foreign-born students. In the past four years, Minneapolis schools have seen a marked change from mostly Russian and Asian foreign-born students to a majority now being from African and Hispanic countries. Currently, there are seven languages present in the school district, with over 80 different dialects spoken.

The robust economy of the 1990’s may account for much of the rapid growth in Minnesota’s immigrant population during the past decade. In the next ten years it may be overcrowding in places like California, Florida and New York, where most immigrants now settle, that will attract increasing numbers of immigrants to Minnesota. As the ethnic and cultural makeup of the Midwest changes, it is beginning to look more like the rest of the country.