Trump flips on campaign promise to reduce immigration

BY: Aaron Dickens

Though President Trump previously talked about reducing immigration during his campaign, he's now going on record as supporting a "merit-based system" for immigration.

Speaking with the economy, he said a system similar to those in countries like Canada and Australia could benefit the tech industry,

Trump tells the Economist that he supports a "merit-based immigration system," something he says the country could benefit from professionals skilled in technology from nations like India.

Click through images of where a wall already exists along the US-Mexico border:

He added, "I absolutely want talented people coming in, I want people that are going to love our country coming in, I want people that are going to contribute to our country coming in."

Trump's shift could be a result of pressure from business executives. During his inauguration, speech Trump said, "Buy American, Hire American."

Roughly 1 million immigrants are legally accepted into the U.S. every year, per the Department of Homeland Security. Breitbart estimated that about one-quarter of consumers were not born in U.S.