Cranley wants more immigrants coming to Cincinnati

Mayor John Cranley has told The Enquirer he's planning a new immigration initiative to attract more people and money from outside the United States.

"If you're fleeing political persecution anywhere in the world, we want you here," he said Friday.

A spokesman said Cranley's immigration plan will probably be formally released late next week, but the mayor shared some details in a Friday morning meeting with Enquirer reporters and editors.

Cincinnati has 300,000 residents -- 5 percent foreign-born -- according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Attracting more immigrants is a way to grow the population, Cranley said.

The initiative comes on the heels of similar efforts in Dayton and other Midwest cities in the past several years. Cincinnati's neighbor just north on Interstate 75 started its Welcome Dayton initiative in 2011, marketing itself as an "immigrant-friendly city."

The effort attracted 400 Turkish families who have sparked the renewal of a north Dayton neighborhood, according to a New York Times story last fall.

Cranley similarly envisions immigrants rehabbing and filling the city's inventory of older, blighted housing: "I would love to take advantage of that as a community redevelopment tool."

He also wants to encourage wealthy foreigners to come to Cincinnati via a program known as EB-5, he said Friday.

EB-5 is a type of visa authorized by Congress for foreigners who invest at least $1 million in an economic development project in the United States. The investors and their families are allowed to become permanent U.S. residents.

The minimum required investment can be lowered to $500,000 if it's made in economically disadvantaged areas, and Cranley is working on getting those exemptions for parts of the city that qualify.

The mayor's goal is "to make Cincinnati the most immigrant-friendly city in the country," he said.

The Democrat would like to see immigration reform pass Congress to help the effort.