Former US President Donald Trump appears to be moderating his usually hard-line stance on immigration, a crucial election topic, by saying he wants to award green cards to foreign 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 finish from a college, I think you should get immediately as part of your degree a green card to be able to stay in this country.”
A permanent residency card in the United States and a first step toward citizenship is usually referred to as a “green card.”
According to Donald Trump, this should apply to “anybody who graduates from a college,” which includes doctorate holders and students who finish two-year programs, sometimes referred to as junior colleges.
In response to the original question on the podcast, “I do promise,” Trump said he would help bring the “best and the brightest around the world to America.”
“I know of stories where people graduate from a college, even a top college, and they want to stay here so badly,” he continued. and they are unable to.
“They return to China, they return to India. They operate the same fundamental business in those locations and grow to become multibillionaires, creating jobs for tens of thousands of people, according to Trump.
“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,” he continued, adding that “smart people” are another thing that US companies need.
Trump went on, “That is going to end on day one.”
