Former President Donald Trump proposed a surprising change to his usual stance against immigration by suggesting that foreign students graduating from US colleges should automatically receive green cards along with their diplomas. Trump made these remarks during a podcast interview with venture capitalists and tech investors hosted by David Sacks.
This marks a significant shift from his previous policies that restricted immigration for high-skilled workers and students. Trump emphasized the importance of keeping talented individuals in the US to boost the economy.
He suggested that graduates from any college, including junior colleges, should receive green cards automatically upon graduation. Trump attributed his failure to implement this policy during his presidency to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump said, "You graduate from a college, I think you should get green card automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country, and that includes junior colleges."
He further said, "there are 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."
Following the interview, Trump's campaign press secretary clarified that there would be a rigorous screening process for green card applicants to exclude those considered harmful to US interests, such as communists, radical Islamists, and others.
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