In one of the most significant immigration moves a Republican president or candidate has made since Ronald Reagan legalized nearly 3 million undocumented immigrants in 1986, GOP candidate former President Donald Trump proposed a new program that would offer a pathway to citizenship for all foreign college graduates of U.S. community colleges, two-year trade colleges, and universities.
Trump Proposes New Immigration Policy
Trump proposed this policy position, which veers from his historic anti-immigration tenor, during an “All-In” podcast appearance featuring venture capitalists and technology investors.
Trump’s Argument for the Proposal
Arguing for his new proposal, Trump said on the “All-In” podcast that he is aware of graduates of U.S. college institutions from China and India specifically who would like to stay and work in the United States but cannot because of current immigration policy restrictions. Rather than remaining and contributing to the economy domestically, the graduates return to their home countries and become multi-billionaires with thousands of employees.
Trump Emphasizes the Need for “Brilliant People”
Trump said, “You need a pool of people to work for your company. And they have to be smart people. Not everybody can be less than smart. You need brilliant people.”
Campaign Statement and Vetting Process
Following the announcement, which will likely cause waves of concern from immigration hawks, the Trump campaign released a statement saying, “President Trump has outlined the most aggressive vetting process in U.S. history, to exclude all communists, radical Islamists, Hamas supporters, America haters, and public charges. He believes that only after such vetting has occurred should we keep the most skilled graduates who can significantly contribute to America. This would only apply to the most thoroughly vetted college graduates who never undercut American wages or workers.”
Tech Investors’ Interest
Tech investors are generally interested in attracting “the best and the brightest” minds to innovate and work on new and emerging technologies. Finding talent often requires going beyond traditional geographic or state boundaries.
Trump’s Green Card Proposal
In the interview, Trump said, “What I want to do and what I will do is: you graduate from a college, I think you should automatically as part of your diploma [receive] a green card to be able to stay in this country. That includes junior colleges and anybody who graduates from a college. You go there for two years or four years.” Trump claimed he would address this policy matter on his first day in office.
Immigration as a Top Issue
Immigration has been a top issue for Trump in his reelection efforts, as both President Biden and Trump are rushing to win the support of the electorally significant Latino vote. While Trump maintains a strict law and order stance regarding border security and discretion about not allowing terrorists and cartels into the country, this new proposal to increase the number of U.S. permanent residents from among the population seeking education in the United States would legalize a different group of immigrants.
The Dilemma for Trump
Balancing the two different messages on immigration may pose a dilemma for Trump, as he has long played upon the public safety fears of those wary of immigrants, terrorist agendas, and drug cartel activities, and has also played significantly on the “America first” tune which generally sees migrants as competitors to America’s labor interests.
Balancing Deportation and Legalization
Alongside this announcement, Trump has continued to commit to enacting a historically significant deportation operation upon a potential return to office.
Evolving View on Immigration
The evolving Trump view on immigration seems to prioritize immigration categories with a net positive economic impact on the United States. This explains his initiative to give a green card to immigrants with college-level education from the United States.
Pushing for Legalization
He will likely continue to push for legalizing the college educated foreign population while curtailing immigration based on the categories of family-based visas and the visa lottery program. He sought to restrict these programs during his first Administration.
Trump’s 2017 Executive Order
One of Trump’s first immigration-related moves in 2017 after taking office was to issue a “Buy American and Hire American” executive order. This policy encouraged government agencies to consider ways to ensure American workers were not disadvantaged by foreign workers in the general applicant pool. His policy’s impact was to ensure that only the most difficult-to-fill jobs at the highest skill levels were given to foreign workers and that the majority of the general and lower-skilled jobs went to available Americans.
Criticism of the H1-B Visa Program
In the past, Trump criticized the current H1-B visa program used to employ foreign workers even though he used the program to hire employees for his organization in the past. He claims that the visa program is “no good” and harms U.S. workers by allowing companies, specifically tech companies, to employ foreign workers at a lower wage than American workers, thereby edging Americans out of a job or artificially lowering the competitive wage.
