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Former US President Donald Trump announced that if re-elected, he would automatically grant green cards to foreign graduates of US colleges.
In a podcast interview with Silicon Valley tech investors on Thursday, June 20, Trump pledged to simplify the process of bringing skilled individuals to the US, stating that anyone who graduates from a US college should have the opportunity to remain in the country.
As quoted by Aljazeera, during an appearance on the All-In Podcast hosted by Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks and David Friedberg, said, “It’s so sad when we lose people from Harvard, MIT, the greatest schools, and lesser schools that are phenomenal schools also.
“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.”
A green card allows individuals to live and work in the US permanently and provides a route to citizenship.
Trump’s new proposal, which could result in hundreds of thousands of new citizenship applications annually, signifies a significant shift from the strict immigration policies that helped him rise in the Republican Party.
Trump's previous immigration stance
Trump, who previously claimed that migrants were “poisoning the blood of our country,” has promised to carry out the largest deportation of undocumented migrants in US history if he wins reelection in November.
He has also repeatedly criticised his Democratic opponent, President Joe Biden, for being too lenient on immigration.
At a campaign event in Wisconsin on Tuesday, Trump criticised a new program announced by Biden that allows undocumented spouses of US citizens to apply for permanent residency without leaving the country.
“Our country is under invasion. We should not be talking amnesty, we should be talking about stopping the invasion instead,” Trump said.
The Department of Homeland Security estimates that around 11 million migrants are living in the US without authorisation.
While Trump has focused much of his criticism on undocumented immigration, he also significantly reduced legal immigration during his presidency.
An analysis by the libertarian Cato Institute found that the Trump administration reduced the number of green cards and immigrant visas by 418,453 and 11,178,668, respectively, largely due to restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reason for Trump's previous immigration policy
In a recent appearance on the All-In Podcast, Trump said the pandemic had interfered with his plans to issue green cards to foreign graduates.
“I know of stories where people graduate from a top college or from a college, and they desperately wanted to stay here. They had a plan for a company, a concept, and they can’t,” Trump said.
“They go back to India, they go back to China, they do the same basic company in those places, and they become multi-billionaires employing thousands and thousands of people, and it could have been done here,” he added.