Former President Donald Trump said in an interview posted Thursday he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges, a sharp departure from the anti-immigrant rhetoric he typically uses on the campaign trail. Trump was asked about plans for companies to be able to import the “best and brightest” in a podcast taped Wednesday with venture capitalists and tech investors called the “All-In.” “What I want to do and what I will do is you graduate from a college, I think you should get automatically as part of your diploma a green card to be able to stay in this country. And that includes junior colleges too, anybody graduates from a college. You go there for two years or four years,” he said, vowing to address this concern on day one.
Quick Read
- Policy Proposal: Former President Donald Trump proposes automatic green cards for foreign students graduating from U.S. colleges.
- Details:
- Applies to graduates from both four-year and two-year colleges, including junior colleges.
- Green cards would be conferred as part of their diploma.
- Significance:
- This marks a sharp departure from Trump’s typical anti-immigrant rhetoric.
- Aimed at allowing graduates to stay and work in the U.S.
- Immigration Stance:
- Trump’s 2024 campaign often highlights the dangers of illegal immigration.
- Historically proposed curbs on legal immigration during his administration.
- Economic Impact:
- Suggests retaining highly educated individuals to benefit the U.S. economy.
- Highlights examples of graduates becoming successful entrepreneurs abroad due to visa issues.
- Campaign Statement:
- Emphasizes a rigorous vetting process for all immigrants.
- The policy would only apply to thoroughly vetted graduates who wouldn’t undercut American wages.
- Context:
- Trump has previously criticized the H1-B visa program and pushed for reforms to prioritize high-skilled workers.
- Blames the COVID-19 pandemic for not implementing these measures during his presidency.
The Associated Press has the story:
Trump proposes green cards for foreign grads of US colleges, departing from anti-immigrant rhetoric
Newslooks- MIAMI (AP) —
Former President Donald Trump said in an interview posted Thursday he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges, a sharp departure from the anti-immigrant rhetoric he typically uses on the campaign trail. Trump was asked about plans for companies to be able to import the “best and brightest” in a podcast taped Wednesday with venture capitalists and tech investors called the “All-In.” “What I want to do and what I will do is you graduate from a college, I think you should get automatically as part of your diploma a green card to be able to stay in this country. And that includes junior colleges too, anybody graduates from a college. You go there for two years or four years,” he said, vowing to address this concern on day one.
Immigration has been Trump’s signature issue during his 2024 bid to return to the White House. His suggestion that he would offer green cards — documents that confer a pathway to U.S. citizenship — to potentially hundreds of thousands of foreign graduates would represent a sweeping expansion of America’s immigration system that sharply diverges from his most common messages on foreigners.
Trump often says during his rallies that immigrants who are in the country illegally endanger public safety, and steal jobs and government resources, and once suggested that they are “poisoning the blood of our country.” He has promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history if elected.
Trump and his allies often say they distinguish between people entering illegally versus legally. But during his administration, Trump also proposed curbs on legal immigration such as family-based visas and the visa lottery program.
Right after taking office in 2017, he issued his “Buy American and Hire American” executive order, directing Cabinet members to suggest reforms to ensure that business visas were only awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers.
He has previously said the H1-B program commonly used by companies to hire foreign workers temporarily — a program he has used in the past — was “very bad” and used by tech companies to get foreign workers for lower pay.
During the conversation with “All-In,” Trump blamed the coronavirus pandemic for being unable to implement these measures while he was president. He said he knows of stories of people who graduate from top colleges and want to stay in the U.S. but can’t secure visas to do so, forcing them to return to their native countries, specifically naming India and China. He said they go on and become multibillionaires, employing thousands of workers.
“You need a pool of people to work for your company,” Trump said. “And they have to be smart people. Not everybody can be less than smart. You need brilliant people.”
In a statement released hours after the podcast was posted, campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “President Trump has outlined the most aggressive vetting process in U.S. history, to exclude all communists, radical Islamists, Hamas supporters, America haters and public charges. He believes, only after such vetting has taken place, we ought to keep the most skilled graduates who can make significant contributions to America. This would only apply to the most thoroughly vetted college graduates who would never undercut American wages or workers.”
