In a surprising departure from his previous hardline stance on immigration, former President Donald Trump said he would give green cards to foreign nationals who graduate from U.S. colleges.
Trump made the comment during an episode of “The All-In Podcast,” hosted by tech venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya. He emphasized the importance of retaining talented graduates in the U.S., saying, “If 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 said the policy would include graduates from junior colleges and those earning doctorate degrees.
He also complained about foreign graduates of top U.S. colleges leaving the country and starting successful companies in countries like India and China.
“You need a pool of people to work for your companies and they have to be smart people. 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.
However, hours after the podcast aired, Trump’s campaign spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, clarified that the policy would involve rigorous vetting. Graduates would be screened to exclude “communists, radical Islamists, Hamas supporters, America haters, and public charges.” Leavitt said only the most skilled graduates who could significantly contribute to America would be eligible, ensuring they would not undercut American wages or workers.
Trump has made immigration a focal point of his 2024 presidential campaign, promising the largest domestic deportation operation in U.S. history. His comments follow President Joe Biden’s recent executive action allowing certain undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens to apply for lawful permanent residency without leaving the country, a move intended to appeal to Latino voters in battleground states.
Whether or not Trump would act on his plan if elected is unclear given his history of restrictive immigration policies. During his presidency, Trump sought to limit immigration through various means, including targeting visa programs and promoting a “Buy American, Hire American” strategy. His administration also implemented a travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries and significantly reduced refugee resettlement.