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By John Ogunsemore
Donald Trump has promised to grant automatic green cards to foreign undergraduate and doctoral students who graduate from US universities if he returns to the White House.
Trump, the presumptive Republican Party candidate, will square off against incumbent President Joe Biden in November’s presidential election.
Trump made the promise as a guest on a podcast hosted by Silicon Valley investors aired on Thursday.
The 45th president’s promise stands in stark contrast to his frequent anti-immigration rhetoric, mostly directed at undocumented migrants.
Speaking on the All-In Podcast hosted by Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks and David Friedberg, Trump said, “It’s so sad when we lose people from Harvard, MIT, the greatest schools, and lesser schools that are phenomenal schools also.”
He said this in response to Calacanis, who expressed anxiety that the Republican candidate’s policies could restrict the country’s ability to attract and keep the brightest minds.
Dispelling the co-host’s fears, Trump stated, “I think you should get, automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country and that includes junior colleges, too.”
He added, “Anybody who graduates from a college you go in there for two years or four years, if you graduate or you get a doctorate degree from a college —you should be able to stay in this country.”
Explaining the rationale for his stance, Trump said, “I know of stories where people graduate from a top college, or from a college, and they desperately wanted to stay here. They had a plan for a company, a concept 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, and it could have been done here.”
However, Trump’s Campaign Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt explained that the candidate was not proposing a blanket offer.
In a statement, Leavitt said only the “most skilled graduates who can make significant contributions to America” would be granted the automatic green cards.
She added that there would be an “aggressive vetting process” excluding “all communists, radical Islamists, Hamas supporters, America haters, and public charges”.
