Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has promised to grant automatic Green Cards to foreign students graduating from U.S. colleges. Speaking on a podcast, Trump emphasized the importance of retaining talented graduates, particularly from countries like India and China, to prevent them from returning home and potentially becoming multibillionaires there.
This marks a significant shift for Trump, known for his stringent anti-immigrant policies, especially as the November election approaches.
Immigration remains a crucial issue in the U.S. A Pew Research Center poll recently indicated that 59% of registered U.S. voters support granting citizenship to immigrants.
During the 'All-In' podcast, Trump stated, “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, a former U.S. President, recounted, “I have heard stories where people graduated 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 - 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.”
The podcast, hosted by venture capitalists Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks, and David Friedberg (three of whom are immigrants), highlighted Trump's regret over losing talented graduates from top institutions like Harvard and MIT to their home countries. He mentioned that his plans to implement this policy were derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2023, the U.S. issued a record number of over 140,000 visas to Indian students, and the demand is expected to rise further in 2024. The U.S. embassy in India has already begun interviews earlier than usual to manage the surge in student visa applications.
A Green Card, officially known as a Permanent Resident Card, grants the holder permanent resident status in the U.S. Trump has been a strong advocate of a merit-based citizenship policy. In the podcast, he reiterated his first-term policy that foreign students should receive a Green Card upon graduating from higher education institutions, especially in STEM fields.
“Anybody graduates from a college, you go in there for two years or four years. If you graduate, or you get a doctorate degree from a college, you should be able to stay in this country," Trump asserted.
He expressed frustration over the current system that forces top graduates to leave the U.S., making it difficult for them to secure deals with companies due to uncertainties about their immigration status. “That is going to end on day one,” Trump announced.
According to the latest annual Open Doors report from the Institute of International Education, over a million international students from more than 210 places of origin were studying at U.S. higher education institutions during the 2022-23 academic year.
During his presidency, Trump’s immigration policies included significant restrictions on green cards, visa programs, refugee resettlement, and other forms of legal immigration, reducing the number of lawful permanent residents entering the country. He also criticized the H-1B visa program, which allows U.S. companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations requiring theoretical or technical expertise, as a "theft of American prosperity."
Trump’s administration expanded restrictions on legal immigration during the pandemic, proposed suspending all immigration and considered deporting foreign students if they did not attend some in-person classes. A month before the 2020 election, Trump moved to further restrict the H-1B visa program.
This change in stance could significantly boost the hopes of thousands of Indian students graduating or planning to graduate from U.S. colleges.
