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US Ends 60-Year Green Card In-Country Policy

Does this restore legal order or sabotage America's global competitiveness?
US Ends 60-Year Green Card In-Country Policy
Above: A newly sworn-in U.S. citizen holds a US flag at a naturalization ceremony in Newark, New Jersey, on Feb. 16, 2017. Image credit: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

The Spin


Republican narrative

The Trump administration's move to end in-country green card adjustments restores the immigration system to its original legal intent, closing a backdoor that allowed millions of economic migrants to bypass proper channels. Half of all green cards in recent years were granted through this fast-track process, effectively functioning as a covert amnesty program. Requiring applicants to return home isn't cruel — it's the law working as Congress designed it.

Democratic narrative

Forcing green card applicants to leave the country mid-process separates families, kills jobs and drives top scientists and founders out of the U.S. economy entirely. Indians face decades-long backlogs and Russians have no functioning U.S. embassy system to apply through, making this policy functionally impossible for huge populations. Restricting legal immigration this aggressively hands a competitive advantage straight to China and Russia.


Metaculus Prediction


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© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 7.4.1

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 7.4.1