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Staple Green Cards to Grad School Diplomas, Mayor Says

By DNAinfo Staff on April 25, 2011 4:00pm  | Updated on April 25, 2011 3:59pm

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is a staunch advocate for immigration reform.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg is a staunch advocate for immigration reform.
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DNAinfo/Jill Colvin

By Jill Colvin

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

HELL'S KITCHEN — Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants every foreign student who receives a graduate degree from an American school to get a green card automatically.

Speaking a week after attending an immigration summit at the White House, Bloomberg argued Monday that forcing potential entrepreneurs out of the country to start businesses overseas is a mistake.

"Stapling a green card to the diploma would be a very smart thing for this country to do," Bloomberg told reporters at a press conference at the launch of the eighth annual "Citizenship NOW!" hotline, which provides free immigration advice in numerous languages.

Bloomberg, who is a long-time advocate of immigration reform, also blasted federal lawmakers for dragging their feet.

The
The "Citizenship NOW!" immigration hotline will be open through Friday, April 29, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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DNAinfo/Jill Colvin

"The dithering in Washington about getting us real immigration reform is unconscionable. And it is really hurting this country," he said, adding that he urged President Barack Obama "to provide immediate green card and visa reforms that would allow U.S. workers to attract and hire the workers they need."

"If there was ever a time when you needed immigrants it is right now," he said.

Harlem Rep. Charlie Rangel made his own big push for immigration reform last year with the DREAM Act, legislation that would have let young undocumented people who were brought to the U.S. as children go to college and serve in the military while putting them on a path to citizenship. The bill, which is separate from the reform Bloomberg discussed Monday, died in the U.S. Senate in December after a filibuster.

Bloomberg also spoke again Monday in favor of including fingerprints or "some biometric thing" on Social Security cards to help employers know the people they're hiring are legitimately eligible to work.