URBANA – President-elect Donald Trump’s stance towards immigration remained hostile while he was campaigning last year. But in the “All-In-Podcast” last summer, he proposed to offer green cards to international students who graduate from American schools.
Dale Gardner, a political science professor at Parkland College, explained Trump’s shift in stance. “So I would suspect he’s looking at international students as a source of economic benefit for the U.S.”
International students struggle to find jobs and internships in the United States due to the barrier of visa sponsorship.
FNU Mohi, an international graduate student at the University of Illinois said companies have to offer sponsorships for international students to be eligible to work in the United States. However, the amount of companies offering sponsorships is really low.
In addition, Mohi said that even the student visa process seems to be limited.
“I have multiple friends who applied for F-1 Visa and got rejected by their visa officers without getting any kind of valid explanation as to why they were rejected.”
So, Trump’s recent green card proposal has given some international students hope. However, with over 1.1 million of these students in the United States, questions remain whether the green card policy can be implemented.
“Well they’ve been really poor in making any immigration reforms, so I wouldn’t have high hopes,” Gardner said.
At the University of Illinois, there are more than 11,000 foreign students. Most are from China, India, South Korea, and Taiwan. Parkland College has more than 300 international students.
If the policy is implemented, Gardner said it would be better than mass deportations. Mohi doesn’t have high hopes either, but he does wish for the policy to be implemented.