In a significant departure from his previous anti-immigration stance, former U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed that foreign nationals graduating from American colleges should automatically be granted a green card.

As reported by CNN, Trump made this announcement yesterday on a podcast, in light of the upcoming November elections:

“What I want to do, and what I will do, is that when you graduate from an American college, I think you should automatically, as part of your diploma, receive a green card to stay in this country,” said the Republican presidential candidate on “The All-In Podcast,” which aired yesterday.

Trump further explained his reasoning:
“And this includes junior colleges (two-year programs). This will apply to anyone graduating from a college, where studies might last two or four years. If they graduate or earn a doctoral degree from a college, they should be able to stay in this country.”

It is noted that the green card is a permanent residence card for America, granting its holder the right to live and work in the United States. Green cards do not expire, although they typically need to be renewed every 10 years. For conditional permanent residence, the green card is valid for two years. Additionally, it allows the holder to start the process of becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Trump made these comments on a podcast hosted by, among others, two top entrepreneurs investing in tech companies: David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya.

Recently, these two wealthy entrepreneurs organized a fundraising event in San Francisco for the campaign of Melania Trump’s husband, as commented by the American network.

Trump was also asked a question by another podcast host, investor Jason Calacanis:

“Can you please promise us that you will give us more opportunities to bring the best and brightest minds from around the world to America?”

In response, the 78-year-old Republican expressed his frustration that some foreign graduates from top U.S. colleges cannot start companies in the U.S., leading them to establish their businesses in other countries, such as India or China.

The former U.S. President has made immigration a central issue of his 2024 White House bid, pledging to carry out “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history” as part of his agenda to attack his political opponent, current President Joe Biden.

However, his recent comments contrast with his previous anti-immigration policies and come just days after Joe Biden announced a new policy to protect from deportation hundreds of thousands of undocumented spouses of American citizens.

According to government officials, the Democratic President’s decision to legalize immigrants will apply to those who have been in the country for at least 10 years and will allow them to work legally in the country.

The White House estimates that more than 500,000 spouses of American citizens will benefit from this move, as well as 50,000 young people under 21 whose parent is married to an American citizen.

It is noted that in early June, Joe Biden promised his fellow citizens to make the U.S. immigration system “fairer.”