Appearing on a podcast last week, former President Donald Trump made an unusual claim. “What I would do is you graduate from college. I think as part of your diploma you should automatically get a green card so you can stay in this country,” he said. adding He said he would also include college graduates.
A Trump campaign spokeswoman quickly tempered that suggestion. hopeful It is an “aggressive vetting process” that “eliminates all communists, radical Islamists, Hamas supporters, America haters, and public charges.” The green card proposal would only apply to college graduates who “will never devalue American wages or workers,” the spokesperson continued. (It’s important to be more specific about Trump’s initial statement.) Washington PostCatherine Rampell Point outThe Trump administration has “implemented policies that have further restricted skilled legal immigration and made life a living hell for these international workers and students.”)
But back and forth and Pushback President Trump's comments should not stop politicians from seeing the problem of retaining graduates from overseas universities as a weakness that the United States must address.
“The United States invests resources in educating hundreds of thousands of international students each year, but only allows a fraction of them to stay after graduation,” said Connor O’Brien, a research and policy analyst at the Economic Innovation Group (EIG), a bipartisan public policy organization. “This is a huge gift to China and other competitors. They educate our best and brightest, and then because of our backward immigration system, they force them to return home.”
EIG analyze According to data released yesterday, only 4 out of 10 international students who graduate from US universities stay in the country long-term. This is according to data from the National Survey of College Graduates. While three-quarters of those who earn doctoral degrees stay, only half of those who earn master's degrees and 17% of those who earn bachelor's degrees stay. Some may be leaving simply because the best job prospects are in their home country or elsewhere. Still, an important factor is that “more and more international students are competing for a certain number of residency opportunities.” According to EIG analysis.
“Unless we expand skilled visa programs like the H-1B or add employment-based green cards, we will continue to lose tens of thousands of talented graduates every year,” O’Brien argues. “There are some real downsides to guaranteeing green cards to new graduates. It may create bad incentives for colleges. But it’s clear that we need to do a better job of retention, and that requires more visas.”
hostile immigration system method Many international students never come to the United States in the first place. april report The National Foundation for American Policy, a non-partisan public policy organization, has argued that international students are increasingly viewing Canada as a more lucrative destination. International student enrollment in Canada between 2000 and 2021 increase That's a 544% increase compared to the 45% increase in the United States.
The debate over highly skilled immigration often devolves into unproductive arguments about the southern border, as evidenced by last night’s debate. presidential debate For the record. It’s a shame. Border policies are in dire need of reform and have profound humanitarian and economic implications, but attracting and retaining highly skilled foreign talent is also a pressing issue.
Just a few elections ago, both major party candidates embraced this vision: “We will staple a green card to the diploma of anyone who earned an advanced degree in the United States,” said Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah). said In ~ 2012. The same goes for President Barack Obama. said that Supported “Encourage international students to stay in the U.S. and contribute to our economy by attaching a green card to the diploma of advanced graduates of STEM degrees.”
Of course, this policy is not a panacea. Other reforms to the high-skilled immigration system are still needed. Addressing A massive green card backlog that forces many visa holders to wait decades for permanent residency. Congressional inaction continues to be a barrier to any meaningful immigration reform.
The United States holds the enviable honor of being a top destination. foreign student. Now is the time for politicians to think seriously about retaining them through smart policies.