Since 1994, about 35 businesses have opened and dozens have expanded in the once-struggling area, business groups say. Mexican newcomers also are settling in suburbs and rural hamlets, drawn by good schools and proximity to workplaces. His preferred customer list has exploded from 15,000 to 30,000 names during the last two years. So many Mexicans have poured into northern Macomb and central Oakland counties that Spanish-speaking masses and other signs of newcomers abound. Heading north on Van Dyke, for example, it's hard to find a town that doesn't have a Mexican market or taqueria, a small family-style restaurant.
Few newcomers are migrant workers, demographers say.
Rather, they come for more permanent roots and jobs. Auto plants, construction companies and home builders increasingly draw on Mexicans for their labor needs. For people who come directly from Mexico, the transition can be tough. Maria left Guanajuato, Mexico, in 1999 to join her siblings in Imlay City, in Lapeer County. She immigrated legally but her husband did not.