A short poll increased opposition to granting green cards to college graduates by about 10% across party lines.
The fact that US taxpayers directly and indirectly fund foreign students lowered 47.4% of all respondents’ and 51.1% of Republicans’ opinion of granting green cards to college graduates.
The fact that green card recipients could pose a national security risk in a multipolar world lowered 44.4% of respondents’ opinion of granting green cards to college graduates.
The fact that granting more green cards would change America’s racial demographics lowered 23.7% of all respondents’, 36.7% of Republicans’, 20.5% of Independents’, and even 10.6% of Democrats’ opinion of granting green cards to college graduates.
Trump’s proposal failed to change how respondents plan to vote.
On June 20, 2024, Donald Trump appeared on the All-In podcast. After being prompted, Trump promised to grant green cards to college graduates starting on day one if he is re-elected. Specifically,
“You graduate from a college, I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country. And that includes junior colleges too. Anybody graduates from a college — you go in there for two years or four years. If you graduate, or you get a doctorate degree from a college, you should be able to stay in this country.”[1]
Trump’s green card proposal is a symptom of how there is a stark divide in the public mind between legal and illegal immigration, as was revealed in our previous poll on immigration and repatriation. Widespread opposition to illegal immigration does not translate over into opposition to legal immigration. And, as explained by Executive Director David Zsutty, this must change because legal immigration is actually more deleterious than illegal immigration.