Belgian diplomats will be in Des Moines this week to meet with members of the group “Iowans for a Better Future,” on the issue of immigration. Indianola Mayor Jerry Kelley is executive director of the group, which is hosting delegates from the Migration Policy Group of Brussels, Belgium. Kelley says the Belgian group is visiting Iowa and California to learn about migration policies in the U-S. Iowans for a Better Future is a nonpartisan, nonprofit group working to sustain economic and population growth through implementation of the “Iowa 2010” recommendations. Kelley says the 2010 plan was presented to Governor Vilsack in 2000 as a blueprint for the decade ahead. He says one method recommended for growing Iowa’s workforce was immigration, which generated a lot of hostility in Iowa, and brought some positives too. Kelley believes it was the “bold” 2010 plan that prompted the Belgians to choose Iowa to learn more about how immigrants are received. He says the discussion will likely include mention of the 11 suspected illegal immigrants whose bodies were found in a railcar in western Iowa a few weeks ago. He says that makes him both sad and angry. He says the I-N-S needs to find a more rational, positive approach to allowing immigrants into the country. The meeting between the Iowans and Belgians is scheduled for Thursday at 12:30 P-M at the Des Moines International Airport. The Migration Policy Group of Brussels bills itself as an international organization “committed to policy development on mobility, migration, diversity, equality and anti-discrimination.”
