In a shift from his hard-line rhetoric on immigration, President Donald Trump has signalled his willingness for “real and positive immigration reform” and proposed a merit-based system that could potentially benefit Indians with their high levels of education and skills.
Trump indicated his evolving position on immigration in his maiden address to Congress on Tuesday night, beginning the hour-long speech with a strong condemnation of the recent killing of Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla in Kansas and vandalism targeting Jewish cemeteries.
“While we may be a nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all its forms,” Trump said in an address that struck the right chord overall. He went on to say, “I am here tonight to deliver a message of unity and strength, and it is a message deeply delivered from my heart.”
Earlier in the day, the White House for the first time termed the killing of Kuchibhotla “an act of racially-motivated hatred”, adding, “The President is keeping the family of the victim, who was senselessly killed, in his thoughts, and praying for the full and speedy recovery of those who were wounded.”
In his speech, laying out a broad legislative agenda, Trump stuck to his “America First” approach and announced an ambitious $1 trillion infrastructure plan for national renewal that will be guided by two core principles: Buy American, Hire American. He also renewed his pledge to repeal and replace the “imploding Obamacare disaster” with a new healthcare plan that expands access and lowers costs.
On the festering issue of immigration, Trump appeared to be in a mood for compromise after having insisted all through his campaign that all the 11 million-odd undocumented immigrants, including an estimated 300,000 Indians, will have to leave the country and then try to come through the legal route. He, however, remains firms on deporting nearly one million illegal immigrants who have been convicted of a criminal offence.
“I believe that real and positive immigration reform is possible, as long as we focus on the following goals: to improve jobs and wages for Americans, to strengthen our nation’s security, and to restore respect for our laws,” Trump said, urging Republican and Democratic lawmakers to work together to achieve an outcome that has eluded the country for decades.
legal immigration, too, needed to be reformed in order to protect American workers, Trump said and commended adoption of a merit-based immigration system like the ones in vogue in Canada and Australia. “It will save countless dollars, raise workers’ wages, and help struggling families --- including immigrant families --- enter the middle class,” he said.
Trump, however, did not indicate his administration’s precise plans for H-1B and l1 visas that have predominantly been used by Indian IT majors and software professionals even as three different Bills, introduced by members in Congress, are worrisome for the Indian firms because of a set of stringent provisions targeting them.
On the foreign policy front, Trump, who has come under attack for his insular and protectionist approach during his campaign, appeared to make some amends by speaking of a “direct, robust and meaningful engagement with the world”.
But in the same breath, he declared, “My job is not to represent the world. My job is to represent the United States of America.” America, he said, is better off, when there is less conflict, adding: “We must learn from the mistakes of the past --- we have seen the war and destruction that have raged across our world.”
In contrast to his earlier description of NATO as “obsolete”, he renewed America’s commitment to it. “We strongly support NATO, an alliance forged through the bonds of two World Wars that dethroned fascism, and a Cold War that defeated communism,” he said, but made it clear that “our partners must meet their financial obligations”.
Despite criticism from his own party and Democrats, Trump appeared to defend his push for better ties with Russia. “America is willing to find new friends, and to forge new partnerships, where shared interests align. We want harmony and stability, not war and conflict,” he said.
Without explicitly naming Russia, Trump commented, “We want peace, wherever peace can be found. America is friends today with former enemies. Some of our closest allies, decades ago, fought on the opposite side of these World Wars. This history should give us all faith in the possibilities for a better world.”
Trump defended his push for a temporary immigration ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations from the standpoint of national security. “It is not compassionate, but reckless, to allow uncontrolled entry from places where proper vetting cannot occur,” he said, adding, “We cannot allow a beachhead of terrorism to form inside America --- we cannot allow our nation to become a sanctuary for extremists.”
A new executive order is expected to be issued on this score after the earlier one was stayed by courts. Indications are that the new order will exempt not only green card holders, but also existing visa holders. That apart, Iraq is likely to be taken out of the list of targeted nations.