Exec: Wal-Mart localized immigration

SARAH D. WIRE/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Walmart Vice President of Corporate Affairs Lee Culpepper (far right) listens during a U.S. Chamber of Commerce panel on how cities and businesses are welcoming immigrants. Joining him on the panel were St. Louis Mosaic Project Executive Director Betsy Cohen (left) and Idaho State Refugee Coordinator Jan Reeves.
SARAH D. WIRE/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Walmart Vice President of Corporate Affairs Lee Culpepper (far right) listens during a U.S. Chamber of Commerce panel on how cities and businesses are welcoming immigrants. Joining him on the panel were St. Louis Mosaic Project Executive Director Betsy Cohen (left) and Idaho State Refugee Coordinator Jan Reeves.

WASHINGTON -- Wal-Mart wanted to influence immigration change, so it started in its own backyard, Wal-Mart's Vice President of Corporate Affairs Lee Culpepper said at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event Thursday.

Culpepper joined representatives from cities, businesses and nonprofits to talk about what they are doing to recruit and welcome foreigners to their communities.

In April 2013, Wal-Mart -- along with Tyson Foods Inc. and other companies -- provided the startup funds to create EngageNWA. The group includes two local nonprofits: the NWA Council, focused on the region's economy, and the Jones Trust, focused on families in the region. It also includes the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce -- which promotes trade in both countries -- and other businesses and educators.

The intent is to help integrate and engage foreigners moving to the region, those who relocate to do business with Wal-Mart and other companies, and students who attend the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Culpepper said.

"We pitched this to [the EngageNWA members] that this is more about building the human infrastructure that we need to keep Northwest Arkansas competitive," Culpepper said. "We want to get the very best talent in the world in Northwest Arkansas, but that means we all have got to work together as a regional group."

More than a dozen cities are competing to recruit foreigners, moderators said.

St. Louis wants to be the fastest-growing city for foreigners by 2020, said St. Louis Mosaic Project Executive Director Betsy Cohen. To do that, Cohen said, her group -- originally funded by St. Louis County but which now gets business contributions -- has created an ambassador program to make the city more welcoming and has focused on creating social networks for families moved to the city by foreign companies relocating to the area.

Jennifer Rodriguez, the executive director of the Philadelphia Mayor's Office of Immigrant and Multicultural Affairs, said in Philadelphia foreigners revitalized decaying areas by creating new and innovative businesses. The city is working to make it easier for them to start businesses, she said.

"You really look at that energy, that positivism, that optimism, and you can't say anything except 'let's capture it,'" she said.

Culpepper said Wal-Mart considered the approach of having businesses, nonprofits and government work together.

"That really didn't work for us," Culpepper said. "We didn't really have an infrastructure within government that was there able to assist."

Also, he said, the region that encompasses Rogers, Springdale and Fayetteville needed a broad approach for its diverse population.

Northwest Arkansas is home to a growing population of Hispanics, Marshallese and people from around the world, particularly from South Asia, who have relocated to do business with Wal-Mart, he said.

"We have these three distinct, very different communities that are in Northwest Arkansas," Culpepper said. "So we need a regional approach, and we need to think about those particular communities and what we might do."

According to the 2013 report A Profile of Immigrants in Arkansas, commissioned by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, from 2000-10, Arkansas ranked fourth among states in foreigner population growth with the foreign-born population increasing by 82 percent. Of the state's immigrant population in 2010, 44 percent lived in Benton, Sebastian and Washington counties.

Culpepper said EngageNWA is still developing its strategy.

"At that point you go back to government and you start talking with the educational system, you talk to local government and overseas services and other areas and you figure out ... what are the things that we need to do in Northwest Arkansas?" he said.

Panel moderator Suzette Brooks Masters asked what the EngageNWA plan means for Wal-Mart nationally.

"Obviously when Wal-Mart moves in any direction, it's a significant shift in the marketplace," she said.

Culpepper said Wal-Mart wanted to start its strategy near its headquarters in Bentonville.

"We began thinking about this as a good idea locally, but it was only one part of an internal strategy of what we wanted to do," he said.

Culpepper said the corporation offers English classes for employees and recently decided to provide online English courses, as well.

He said the Wal-Mart Foundation has made $1.5 million in grants to local immigration groups focused on community and workforce development. He said the company is also working with national organizations that support overhauling the country's immigration laws.

Culpepper said other businesses see an economic benefit from hiring foreign workers but are worried about how consumers will react.

"We haven't seen any backlash," he said. "There is a pretty substantial group of people on the left and the right that think that the system doesn't work and needs to be addressed. We don't really get that deep into the policy specifics, that's really not our job, but we do say the system's broken, and it needs to be fixed."

He said some businesses may just not know how to help but will step up if they see other companies acting.

"There is safety in numbers for corporations, it's how they think," he said. "Corporations increasingly are starting to realize they can play a role to support different communities."

Efforts to overhaul the country's immigration laws have largely stalled ahead of the 2014 election.

Cargill's Corporate Vice President Mike Fernandez said senators and representatives have tried to boil the immigration issue down to issues that enrage voters, but that most Americans see the larger picture.

Cargill is a Minneapolis-based company that produces food and agricultural products. Fernandez said the company needs workers at all levels of its organization, and the country needs a plan to replace aging and retiring baby boomers.

"The stark reality is that many voters realize what too many politicians do not. That is that immigration is not fundamentally about border control, it's really not fundamentally about citizenship. It is about economics," Fernandez said.

Metro on 07/18/2014

Upcoming Events