Donald Trump appears to be modifying his often hard-line stance on immigration, a crucial election topic, by saying he wants to give green cards to international graduates from US institutions.
The Republican contender counterbalanced President Joe Biden’s recent crackdown on illegal border crossings by making the comments in a podcast that was released on Thursday, just days after the President proposed a citizenship option for immigrants married to US residents.
Speaking on the All-In podcast, Trump declared, “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.”
A step toward citizenship and a permanent residency card in the United States is usually referred to as a “green card.”
According to Trump, “anybody who graduates from a college” should be included, including people who complete doctorate programs and junior college two-year programs.
When asked on the podcast in the beginning if he would pledge to assist in bringing the “best and the brightest around the world to America,” Trump said, “I do promise.”
“I’ve heard of stories where people who graduated from a prestigious college or a college want to stay here so badly, but they can’t,” he continued.
“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,” Trump said. He also said that US companies need “smart people,” adding “They can’t even make a deal with a company because they don’t think they’re going to be able to stay in the country.” “That is going to end on day one.”
Trump enacted a travel restriction on citizens of primarily Muslim nations and ordered the construction of a wall along the US-Mexico border during his 2017–2021 administration.
In addition, the president made it easier for “Dreamers,” or illegal immigrants who entered the country as minors, to obtain work visas if they have completed their college education and have a “high-skilled job offer.”
Biden, who is frequently criticized by Republicans for being lenient on immigration, earlier in June signed an executive order prohibiting illegal immigrants from requesting asylum when the number of new arrivals exceeds 2,500 in a single day.