Washington: Former US President Donald Trump said he wants to give green cards to foreign graduates from US universities, softening his traditional stance on immigration, a major election issue.
The Republican candidate made the comments on a podcast just days after President Joe Biden announced a path to citizenship for immigrants married to US citizens.
“I think what I’m going to do and what I’m going to do is, you graduate from college, you should get a green card as part of your degree,” Trump told the All-In podcast. .
A green card is a permanent resident card and a step toward citizenship in the United States.
Trump said that would include “graduates of any college,” including those completing two-year programs known as junior colleges and doctoral graduates.
Asked earlier in the podcast if he would help import “the best and brightest in the world to America,” Trump replied, “I promise.”
He added: “I know stories of people who have graduated from high school or college and they want to live here … and they can’t.
“They’re going back to India, China. They’re running the same basic companies in those places, and there’s a lot of billionaires who employ thousands and thousands of people,” he said.
He also said that US companies need “smart people” and that he “can’t even sign contracts with companies because they don’t think they can live in the country.”
“It will be finished on the first day,” he said.
During Trump’s 2017-2021 presidency, he ordered a wall along the US-Mexico border and implemented a travel ban on people from Muslim-majority countries.
His remarks came after Democratic rival Biden on Tuesday eased visa rules for nearly half a million spouses of US citizens, making it easier for them to obtain citizenship.
The president also made it easier for illegal immigrants to the United States, known as “Dreamers,” to obtain work visas if they have a college degree and a “qualified job offer.”
Biden, often accused by Republicans of being soft on immigration, signed an executive order in early June that barred asylum seekers from more than 2,500 immigrants from entering the United States illegally in one day.
