Trump Proposes Green Cards For Foreign Graduates

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The Facts

  • Former US Pres. Donald Trump has suggested "automatically" providing green cards to foreign students graduating from US colleges, including junior colleges.

  • During an interview with the All-In Podcast posted Thursday, the Republican presidential contender took a U-turn from his usual rhetoric, promising to attract talent to the US.


The Spin

Pro-Trump narrative

International students, particularly in STEM fields, fill essential roles in the workforce, boosting local economies and addressing labor shortages. They account for a significant percentage of graduate students in electrical engineering and computer science, contributing to job creation and lowering unemployment rates. If Americans want a strong, healthy economy, they should support more work permits for these students.

Anti-Trump narrative

Proponents of Green Cards for foreign students are doing the bidding of greedy corporations, not the American people. Understandably, foreign STEM field students want jobs in the US, given that the same job in their home countries pays pennies to the dollar. However, they're still paid way less than an American-born STEM graduate. American college grads have just as much talent, and companies should put them first.

Narrative C

As November fast approaches, it seems that both presidential contenders are making big promises as they vie for the minority vote. However, with serious flaws in each of their policies—from Trump's about-face to Biden's failure to acknowledge an unmanageable backlog of undocumented spouses — it remains to be seen whether they will live up to these commitments given the opportunity.


Metaculus Prediction


Public figures in this story