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Boost for Indian students in USA: Donald Trump promises green card for foreign graduates
The former president voiced his support for the foreign student community during an interview on the “All-In” podcast released on June.20.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event, in Racine, Wisconsin, on June.18. / Reuters/Brendan McDermid
In a surprising shift in his usual stance on immigration policies, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he wants to grant green cards to foreign graduates from US colleges. The 78-year-old politician made the promise during an interview on the “All-In” podcast released on June.20.
“What I want to do and what I will do is that when a student graduates from a college, I think they should automatically get, as part of their diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country,” Trump said on the podcast.
Immigration is a key election issue this year. So, Trump softening his typical hard-line view on this has come as a surprise to many in the political arena.
Trump’s announcement of granting green card to foreign graduates in the US comes days after Democrat President Joe Biden announced a citizenship pathway for immigrants married to US nationals. This initiative is designed to protect approximately half a million American families and 50,000 non-citizen children under 21.
During the podcast episode on June.20, Trump specifically spoke of students coming to the USA from India and China.
“I know of stories where people graduated from a top college or from a college, and they desperately wanted to stay here,” he said. “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.”
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.
According to the Open Doors 2023 report on international educational exchange, 1,057,188 international students from more than 210 places of origin studied at US higher education institutions during the 2022/23 academic year – a 12 percent increase compared to the previous academic year. “This is the fastest growth rate in more than 40 years,” the report stated.
China and India remain the two leading places of origin among international students at US colleges and universities, the report noted.
“Fifty-three percent of all international students in 2022/23 academic year were from China and India, comparable to the prior year,” it added. “China remained the top-sending country in 2022/23, with 289,526 students studying in the US (-0.2%). India, the second largest sending country, reached an all-time high of 268,923 international students in 2022/23, an increase of 35 percent.”
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