Trump Proposes Automatic Green Cards for Foreign Graduates

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has pledged to grant automatic Green Cards to foreign students graduating from U.S. colleges. During a podcast, Trump explained that this move aims to prevent talented students from returning to their home countries, such as India and China, where they often become multibillionaires.

This proposal marks a significant shift for Trump, who has previously held a strict anti-immigrant stance. Immigration remains a crucial issue in the upcoming November election, with a recent Pew Research Center poll showing that 59% of registered U.S. voters support awarding citizenship to immigrants.

"What I want to do and what I will do is—if you graduate from a college, you should get a Green Card automatically as part of your diploma," Trump said in the 'All-In' podcast, which is hosted by venture capitalists Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks, and David Friedberg. Trump emphasized that this policy would include junior college graduates as well.

Trump cited examples of graduates who, unable to stay in the U.S., returned to their home countries to start successful companies, thereby creating jobs that could have been in America. "It's so sad when we lose people from top schools like Harvard and MIT," Trump lamented.

In 2023, the U.S. issued over 140,000 visas to Indian students, and the demand is even higher this year. The U.S. embassy in India is preparing for a significant increase in student visa applications in 2024.

Trump, who has favored a merit-based citizenship policy, reiterated his first-term proposal of granting Green Cards to foreign students graduating from U.S. institutions in STEM fields. "We force brilliant people to leave the country because they can't make deals with companies due to visa issues. That is going to end on day one," Trump declared.

According to the latest Open Doors report by the Institute of International Education, more than a million international students studied in the U.S. during the 2022-23 academic year. During his presidency, Trump imposed several restrictions on immigration, including green cards and visa programs. However, his new stance offers hope to thousands of Indian students graduating or planning to graduate from U.S. colleges.