Former President Donald Trump has proposed granting automatic green cards to foreign nationals who graduate from US colleges. This stance marks a significant departure from his previous efforts to restrict both legal and illegal immigration and contrasts with his often inflammatory anti-immigrant rhetoric.
During an appearance on “The All-In Podcast” on Thursday, Trump stated, “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.” He added that this should also apply to graduates from junior colleges and those earning doctorate degrees.
The podcast, hosted by prominent tech venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya, featured Trump in conversation with investor Jason Calacanis, who prompted Trump with a question about increasing the ability to bring in talented individuals from around the world. Sacks and Palihapitiya have been notable supporters of Trump, recently hosting a fundraiser for him in San Francisco.
In response to the proposal, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt clarified that the policy would include stringent vetting to exclude individuals with ideologies contrary to American values, such as communists, radical Islamists, and those who are anti-American. “He believes, only after such vetting has taken place, we ought to keep the most skilled graduates who can make significant contributions to America,” Leavitt told CNN.
Immigration remains a central theme in Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, with promises of conducting “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.” His latest comments come as a contrast to President Joe Biden’s recent executive action aimed at easing the path to lawful permanent residency for certain undocumented family members of US citizens.
Trump expressed concern that the current immigration policies force talented foreign graduates to establish their businesses in other countries like India or China. “You need brilliant people, and we force the brilliant people, the people that graduate from college, the people that are number one in their class from the best colleges. You have to be able to recruit these people and keep the people,” he said.
This is not the first time Trump has shown support for skilled foreign nationals. During his 2015 presidential campaign, he suggested that top graduates from US colleges should have a pathway to citizenship, citing the need for talented individuals in industries like Silicon Valley.
With the 2024 election approaching, Trump’s proposal aims to appeal to a broad range of voters by addressing both the need for skilled labor and the desire for stringent immigration controls.
