How Congress Can Help Rust Belt Cities Attract (and Keep) High-Skill Immigrants

The Wall Street Journal reports that long-suffering Rust Belt cities like St. Louis and Detroit are hoping to arrest their decline by recruiting more immigrants. But they have a problem: Foreigners usually settle near family or job opportunities. And while old-line industrial cities have plenty of charms (one hasn't truly lived until they've eaten a deep-fried brat), they are lacking not only for foreign-born communities, but also for families and workers in general.

Here's what places like Detroit, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh do have, however: big universities, if not inside their city limits, then fairly close by. And so unsurprisingly, some Rust Belt efforts at immigrant outreach have been focused on convincing international students to stay put after graduation.