Former President Donald Trump has proposed a plan to grant automatic green cards to foreign students graduating from U.S. colleges. This move is seen as an effort to retain top talent within the United States and prevent these individuals from contributing to the economies of their home countries, such as India and China, where they have the potential to become multibillionaires.
Trump’s softened approach to immigration policy surfaces as the November presidential election draws near, with immigration and the deportation of illegal immigrants poised as pivotal issues for the electorate. Despite his historical anti-immigrant rhetoric, Trump has consistently expressed support for a merit-based legal immigration system, reported NDTV.
“What I want to do and what I will do is –you graduate from a college, I think you should get a Green Card automatically as part of your diploma, a Green Card to be able to stay in this country. And that includes junior colleges too,” Trump, 78, said in the “All-In” podcast.
“…and they become multi-billionaires employing thousands and thousands of people, and it could have been done here,” he said.
“Let me just tell you that it’s so sad when we lose people from Harvard, MIT, from the greatest schools. and lesser schools that are phenomenal schools also. And what I wanted to do, and I would have done this, but then we had to solve the COVID problem because that came in and, you know, sort of dominated for a little while, as you perhaps know,” Trump said in response.
Softening his stance on immigration, former US President Donald Trump has promised to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from US colleges to prevent them from returning to their home countries like India and China where they become multibillionaires.
Trump’s departure from the anti-immigrant rhetoric comes ahead of the November presidential election in which immigration and deportation of illegal immigrants are among the key issues for voters.
Trump, however, always supported a merit-based legal immigration system.
“What I want to do and what I will do is –you graduate from a college, I think you should get a Green Card automatically as part of your diploma, a Green Card to be able to stay in this country. And that includes junior colleges too,” Trump, 78, said in the “All-In” podcast.
The proposal suggests that foreign students receive green cards as part of their diploma upon graduation, allowing them to stay and work in the country. This marks a departure from Trump’s previous policies, which were characterized by efforts to limit legal immigration, including restrictions on visas for family members and the visa lottery program.
Critics of Trump’s past immigration policies may view this new proposal with skepticism, recalling his 2016 campaign promises to support highly skilled immigrants, which were followed by restrictive measures during his presidency. Nonetheless, the current proposal could represent a substantial expansion of the U.S. immigration system, aligning with Trump’s assertion that retaining the “best and brightest” is crucial for the nation’s progress.
The former president’s campaign has emphasized that the proposed green card policy would apply only to the most skilled graduates who have undergone rigorous vetting processes. This includes excluding individuals with affiliations to communism, radical Islamism, and other groups deemed hostile to American values and interests.
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