The city of Topeka, Kansas, wants people to move there — and it has been offering economic incentives to attract new residents and workers, including Latino and immigrant families.
Under the incentives program, known as Choose Topeka, people like Erick Bovell can receive up to $15,000 if they rent or buy homes in the city and are employed by local businesses that partner with the program, with a minimum salary requirement of $50,000 a year.
Qualifying applicants must have permission to work in the U.S., meaning the incentives are not available for undocumented immigrants.
Bovell, a Venezuelan immigrant who moved to Topeka two years ago, said he got a $10,000 incentive after the city received proof that he had bought a home.
The program is funded equally by the city and the participating businesses, many of which are recruiting Hispanic workers, said Sean Dixon, the president of Visit Topeka.
“I love the city. It is a quiet city, without traffic,” Bovell told Noticias Telemundo in Spanish.
The Choose Topeka program was launched in 2019 to support employers and promote economic development.
“We are a city that depends on immigrant labor, Hispanic or Latino labor,” Topeka’s chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, Ernesto de la Rosa, told Noticias Telemundo in Spanish.
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The program has helped bring almost 100 individuals and families to Topeka, NBC affiliate KSNT reported in February. It was recently expanded to support veterans, recent graduates of Washburn University and “boomerang” residents seeking to return to the city.