The city formerly known as “God’s waiting room” has become something of a progressive mecca over the last decade, and a new report names St. Petersburg as the number-one city in the state of Florida when it comes to how immigrants are integrated, according to a new story from the Tampa Bay Business Journal. The report also ranked St. Pete as the 13th best in the nation.
“Bipartisan research and advocacy organization” New American Economy’s National Integration Index takes into account a multitude of factors, such as municipal policy, government leadership, job opportunity, legal support and economic empowerment, into account when ranking America’s cities on how seamless new arrivals from outside America’s borders are integrated into the community.
St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman has been outspoken in pushing back against what some might call fearmongering on the part of the Trump administration since our current president first hit the campaign trail; the mayor faced a bit of a backlash early last year when his statements that the city would resist what he termed “harmful federal immigration laws” was construed by many as a declaration that St. Pete was a “sanctuary city” (sanctuary cities being quite hot in the media at the time). His catchphrase about the ‘Burg being a place where “the sun shines on all who come to live work and play,” seems borne out by New American Economy’s report, though.
This article appears in Sep 13-20, 2018.
