This series will look at what groups make up Dayton’s immigrant population and why they came here; how immigrants contribute to the local culture and economy; and how pathways to legal immigration can be improved.
Reporter Sydney Dawes is leading this coverage. Reach out to her at Sydney.Dawes@coxinc.com or 937-999-7040. Follow along with our coverage on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Bluesky.
Who is immigrating to the Dayton region, and why
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
More than 26,000 immigrants live and work in Montgomery County, making up roughly 5% of the county’s overall population.
Ohio has seen significant population growth — a 30% increase — among immigrants in the last decade.
Also, over the last decade Ohio has seen a huge increase in the senior citizen population. People 65 and older now outnumber children in more than a quarter of Ohio’s counties, according to new Census data.
Although foreign-born workers made up a small percentage of the county’s overall population earlier this decade, they represented 6% of its working-age population, 5.8% of its employed labor force and 10.9% of its science, engineering, technology and math workers, according to a 2022 report from the American Immigration Council.
How a Congolese refugee embraced Dayton
Warfare in the Democratic Republic of Congo left Huber Heights pastor Desire Ntwayingabo little choice but to flee his home, saying goodbye to his time living with his family in the mountains.
Mexican grandmother shares culture through dance, service
In addition to serving as the community engagement specialist at El Puente in northern Dayton, Imelda Ayala Ramos teaches dance through the Orgullo Mexicano of Dayton club.
“When they dance, they show movement, with colors and different accessories,” Ayala Ramos said through an interpreter. “We move in harmony, with joy in this city. And we can incorporate and integrate.”
How one immigrant forms community, honors culture
Darsheel Kaur’s family came to the U.S. from England when she was four years old to start jobs as psychiatrists at the Dayton Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Her parents were from the Punjab region in India and are Sikh. The Sikh faith is the fifth-largest religion in the world.
After completing graduate school in Virginia, she chose to come back to the Dayton area. She is the founder of The HeArt, a community healing and gathering space on Salem Avenue where artists, educators, healing practitioners and others come together.
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