Donald Trump said he wants to grant green cards to foreign graduates from US colleges, in an apparent softening of his typically hard-line view on immigration, a key election issue.
The Republican candidate made the remarks in a podcast
published Thursday, days after President Joe Biden announced a citizenship
pathway for immigrants married to US nationals, counterbalancing his recent
crackdown on illegal border crossings.
“What I want to do and what I will do is, 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,” Trump told the All-In podcast.
A green card is the commonly used name for a permanent
resident card in the United States and a step toward citizenship.
Trump said this should include “anybody who graduates from a
college,” including those who complete two-year programs, known as junior
colleges, and doctoral graduates.
Asked initially on the podcast if he would promise to help
import the “best and the brightest around the world to America,” Trump replied:
“I do promise.”
He added: “I know of stories where people graduated from a
top college, or from a college, and they desperately want to stay here… 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,” Trump said.
He also said that US companies need “smart people,” adding
“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.”
“That is going to end on day one,” Trump added.
During Trump’s 2017-2021 presidency, he ordered construction of a wall on the US-Mexico border and implemented a travel ban on people from mostly Muslim countries.
His comments came after Democrat opponent Biden on Tuesday
relaxed visa rules for around half a million spouses of US nationals, making it
easier for them to obtain citizenship.
The president also simplified the process for migrants who
came to the United States illegally as children — known as “Dreamers” — to get
work visas if they’ve graduated college and have a “high-skilled job offer.”
Biden — often accused of being soft on immigration by
Republicans — earlier in June signed an executive order barring migrants who
enter the United States illegally from claiming asylum when numbers surge past
2,500 in a day.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com