Exodus of Bangladeshi Immigrants from Queens to Detroit

March 8, 2001

Source: The New York Times

On March 8, 2001, The New York Times reported that an estimated 8000 Bangladeshis have moved from Queens to Detroit in the past 18 months. "The mini-exodus...has created a Bangladeshi community" in the Detroit area and "it has mildly unnerved the tight-knit collection of Bangladeshi immigrants in Queens...According to several estimates, the Bangladeshi population in Detroit has grown from a few thousand in the mid-1990's to 15,000 to 20,000." Many are attracted to Detroit by the job opportunities and real estate prices and the fact that "the Detroit area is home to one of the country's largest Muslim populations."