Trump’s Shift on Immigration Policy
Donald Trump, the ex-president of the United States, who is famous, for his views on immigration has recently changed course by pledging to provide graduates from American universities with automatic green cards. This decision is intended to keep these individuals from going to their native lands, like India and China where they frequently achieve great success.
From Assailing to Supporting H-1B Visa Programme
During his time, as president Trump often spoke out against the H 1B visa program calling it a threat to prosperity. However, as the November presidential election nears and immigration and deportation take stage Trump seems to be adopting a moderate stance, on legal immigration.
Merit-Based Legal Immigration System
Although he has previously expressed immigrant views Trump has consistently backed a legal immigration system based on merit. He clarified his stance when pressed by Calacanis to create chances, for bringing talent from worldwide into the United States.
Encouraging Foreign STEM Graduates to Stay
Trump expressed concern over losing talented graduates who completed their education in the U.S. but couldn’t stay due to visa limitations. He reiterated his policy of granting green cards to foreign students who receive degrees in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields from U.S. higher education institutions.
The Green Card
A Green Card provides permanent residency status in the United States and is officially recognized as a permanent resident card. Trump’s promise aims to make it easier for international students to contribute to the U.S. economy by starting businesses and innovating locally rather than abroad.
Key Issues Ahead of the Election
As Trump’s departure from strict anti-immigration policies comes ahead of a critical election period, it remains to be seen how this promise will impact voters’ decisions concerning immigration policies.
U.S. Immigration Policy and International Students
According to the latest annual Open Doors report of the Institute of International Education, more than a million international students from over 210 places of origin are studying at U.S. higher education institutions during the 2022-23 academic year.
Shifts in Origin Countries
In the year 2022/23 China continued to be the leading source of students, in the U.S. with 289,526 students enrolled. However there was a decrease of 0.2 percent from the year. India as the sender of students saw a record high of 268,923 international students in 2022/23 showing a significant increase of 35 percent from the prior year. Together China and India made up 53 percent of all students in that year maintaining a similar proportion to the previous period.
The distribution of students by country has shifted; 27% originated from China. 25% from India in contrast to the figures for the year 2017 18 which were at 33% for China and 18%, for India.
Donald Trump’s Impact on Immigration Policies
Donald Trump Green Card Promise has been a recurring topic in discussions surrounding U.S. immigration policies. Mr. Trump’s recent comments contrasting his previous immigration policy served as an overture to wealthy business leaders whom he is courting as campaign donors and supporters, according to The New York Times.
During his presidency, Mr. Trump’s U.S. immigration policy shift included sought reforms aimed at reducing family-based immigration and prioritizing immigrants with valuable work skills or higher education credentials. His agenda imposed contentious restrictions on green cards, visa programs like H-1B favoured by tech companies for hiring foreign skilled workers, refugee resettlement, and other forms of legal immigration.
Legal Immigration Restrictions
Mr. Trump began his presidency with an executive order banning travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries and later proposed cutting legal immigration by half. Throughout his tenure, he targeted the H-1B visa program as “theft of American prosperity,” impacting technology companies that rely on hiring thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
Amid the pandemic during his final year in office, he expanded restrictions on legal immigration and proposed suspending all immigration to the United States. Moreover, Mr. Trump’s administration suggested deporting foreign students who did not attend at least some classes in person.
Donald Trump Green Card Promise continued influencing policy even a month before the 2020 election when further restrictions were applied to the H-1B visa program.
In summary, these developments reflect ongoing changes under Donald Trump’s administration aimed at shifting priorities within U.S. immigration policies significantly impacting international student demographics and green card allocations. The Donald Trump Green Card Promise thus illustrates ongoing debates about balancing security concerns with economic dependencies on skilled immigrants.
