Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York (AP Photo)

(CNSNews.com) - Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York said last week that the federal government should assign immigrants to live in cities such as Detroit and “if they survive seven years" make them citizens.

“All the federal government’s got to do is say, ‘We’re gonna welcome here in this country--first come, first served--families, if they’re willing to come here under the following terms,: Bloomberg said in Boston on Aug. 14. "We’re going to assign you a city--let’s say Detroit--you got to agree to not be arrested and not take any federal, state or city money, and you’ve got to live there for seven years, and if you survive seven years, we’ll make you and your family full citizens."

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Bloomberg was speaking along with News Corporation Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch at a forum sponsored by the New England Council.

Bloomberg predicted if the federal government assigned immigrants to cities such as Detroit they would buy and fix up “houses that are derelict,” improve the local schools, create businesses and stimulate the local economy.

“Since they value education, they’d make a big fuss and demand the schools get better," Bloomberg said. "Immigrants have a very low crime rate, so that you certainly don’t have to worry about that. They’d create businesses. If they had to drive to California every morning for three jobs and drive back at night, they’d do it, anything."

Bloomberg said this immigration-reform strategy would create jobs for people who are now unemployed.

“And you would get people to come here, and they would fill those cities with a vibrancy, and the people who are unemployed in those cities would all of a sudden have companies they can go to work for," said Bloomberg. "They’d get the jobs helping fix up the houses. They’d be in the schools. They’d be driving the buses. They’d be starting businesses of their own, because they’d see how other people can do it."