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imposed, projects locating in the areas of the city with lower
unemployment might not be TEA-eligible, even though these
projects could still positively impact the labor force in the high
unemployment areas.
In Raleigh, like many cities, the higher unemployment areas
are highly concentrated in a certain section of the city (see
Figure 3). For Raleigh, a project on the north-northwest side
of the city might not be TEA-eligible if an arbitrary census
tract limit was imposed, even though the project would be a
reasonable commuting distance from, and could still create jobs
for, the unemployed living in the southeast part of the city.
Conclusion
While one intention of instituting a census tract limit appears
to be geared towards eliminating “gerrymandering,” the proposed policy of single-census-tract TEAs does not reflect the
reality of workers’ commuting times. Based on EB-5 market
realities, restricting high unemployment TEAs to a single-tract
limit or some other arbitrary limit would limit potential EB-5
projects that would otherwise positively impact areas of high
unemployment and economic struggle. Unemployment is not
uniform across a community and policy must allow flexibility
for the significant variations in the concentration of high unemployment areas at the local level.
Ultimately, “gerrymandering” is impossible to define. While
instituting an arbitrary census tract cutoff limit might remove
some possibilities of what may appear to be “gerrymandering,”
54
the negative effects outweigh the positive, since such a policy
would significantly impede potential EB-5 projects which
would have legitimate, positive benefits on nearby high unemployment areas.
★
Per the Leahy-Grassley bill, two other types of TEAs would also be allowed:
“rural” areas (consistent with current policy) and closed military bases.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/1501/text
3
http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/2013/May/
EB-5%20Adjudications%20PM%20%28Approved%20as%20fin al%205-3013%29.pdf
4
http://www.ilw.com/immigrationdaily/news/2015,0528-DHS.pdf
5
Bartik, Timothy J. 2015. “How Effects of Local Labor Demand Shocks Vary
with the Initial Local Unemployment Rate.” Growth and Change. http://dx.
doi.org/10.1111/grow.12101. Accessed 19 May 2015.
6
U.S. Census Bureau, OnTheMap Tool for Workers Employed in the City of
Los Angeles, Calif.
1
2
Michael Kester
EB5 INVESTORS MAGAZINE
Michael Kester is Impact DataSource’s lead EB-5
economist, focusing on EB-5 jobs studies and
TEA analyses. He provides EB-5 consulting,
services, and deliverables that reflect the evolving
needs of EB-5 clients and also the changing
requirements of [the] USCIS. Kester has led a
team of economists that have performed numerous comprehensive economic studies for EB-5
applications. He also leads the firm’s EB-5 Targeted Employment Area (TEA)
team, which has analyzed sites
for TEA-eligibility and assisted
clients in obtaining TEA letters.