Former President Donald Trump ’s seeming divergence from his “America First” line on immigration could have sweeping ramifications for how he would staff his administration in a second term, starting with his pick for vice president at the Republican National Convention next month.
Trump endorsed green cards for foreign college graduates in a conversation with tech investors seeking to import more foreign labor.
Cracking down on illegal immigration and prioritizing jobs for workers have been two of Trump’s signature concerns since he entered national politics nine years ago. Regulating immigration has consistently been a top priority for Trump’s voters in the Republican primaries in both 2016 and 2024, according to exit polls.
“Can you please promise us you will give us more ability to import the best and brightest around the world to America?” Jason Calacanis asked Trump in the All-In podcast hosted by Silicon Valley tech investors.
“I do promise,” Trump replied. “But I happen to agree. Otherwise, I wouldn’t promise. ... 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.”
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In addition to being a departure from Trump’s tough stance on immigration, the proposal comes after weeks of campus protests against Israel that riled Republican voters. Some described it as green cards for pro-Hamas activists.
Trump is running against President Joe Biden and the border crisis in a general election, not against Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in a Republican primary . Even if Trump arguably stepped in it with his podcast remarks, it will be difficult for his opponents to capitalize by getting to his right on immigration.
But it could have an effect on his vice presidential pick. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) is the strictest immigration restrictionist believed to be on Trump’s short list. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has moved to the right on the matter over the last decade but was a part of the 2013 Gang of Eight amnesty. Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) would seem to do more to reinforce Trump’s centrist business Republican instincts, which, along with a need for campaign cash, drove the former president’s green card comments rather than his populist and nationalist ones.
The fight over Gang of Eight was still fresh in Republicans’ minds by the time the 2016 primaries rolled around and strengthened Trump’s candidacy.
“That bill — the culmination of a $1.5 billion lobbying effort — doubled the influx of foreign workers to benefit corporate lobbyists, offered sweeping amnesty to benefit illegal immigrants, and collapsed enforcement to benefit groups in the Democrat political machine that advocate for open borders,” then-Sen. Jeff Sessions wrote in a memo to Republican colleagues. “But for American citizens, the legislation offered nothing except lower wages, higher unemployment, and a heavier tax burden.”
Sessions, an Alabama Republican, became the first senator to endorse Trump for president in 2016. He ended up in Trump’s administration as attorney general, and although they later broke over the Trump-Russia investigation, it set the tone for immigration in that first term. So did the rise of top Trump aide Stephen Miller, a former Sessions staffer.
During Trump’s previous stint in the White House, he sought funding for a southern border wall, adopted a series of policies to curb illegal immigration, and even endorsed legislation that would lower legal immigration overall and prioritize merit over family reunification.
Nevertheless, Trump also brought many immigration doves into his administration. As far back as 2015, he expressed sympathy for higher levels of skilled immigration. Immigration was largely a nonfactor in his choice of Mike Pence for vice president in 2016, who had backed a guest-worker program in Congress unpopular with border hawks.
Moreover, Trump has long fancied himself a deal-maker. While immigration hawks will have the seats at the table they lacked under former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, he will talk to Democrats and business Republicans who will want concessions.
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Personnel will likely be policy in a second Trump administration if he wins the November election. The talent pool he draws from could feature more MAGA populists than old-line Republicans during the first term. Polls show increased support for measures such as mass deportations.
It’s also possible that by the GOP convention, the green cards controversy will have blown over, and a dozen other news cycles will have intervened. Trump may not feel the need to protect his right flank on immigration at all. The vice president selection will be an early sign.
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