WASHINGTON, D.C, – Yesterday, Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) sent a letter to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem urging them to take action to end the unlawful Optional Practical Training (OPT) program. The letter highlights how the OPT program—created without congressional authorization—has displaced American workers, particularly in STEM fields, by incentivizing employers to hire foreign labor instead of U.S. graduates.
In part, the letter reads:
“The OPT system incentivizes employers to pass over American graduates and hire foreign guest workers, especially in STEM fields—and that’s exactly what has happened. Today, one-third of computer science graduates and half of computer programming graduates are unemployed six months after graduation. Many large tech companies complain about a shortage of workers, but that could not be further from the truth. In 2023, American colleges graduated 134,000 American citizens or green card holders with computer science degrees. That same year, the federal government handed out work permits to 110,000 foreign guest workers in computer occupations.”
Read more about the letter here.
Read below or see the full text here.
Dear Mr. Miller and Secretary Noem:
I write to request that you take steps to end the unlawful Optional Practical Training (OPT) program. This program was created by bureaucrats to evade immigration limits set by law, and it offers employers a tax break to replace American workers with foreign labor.
OPT authorizes international students to work in the United States for up to one year after graduation for each degree they receive from an institution of higher education. STEM graduates are authorized to work in the U.S. for up to three years. The program is not authorized by Congress. It was established and has been maintained entirely by Deep State bureaucrats.
Despite OPT’s lack of political legitimacy, it has dramatically reshaped America’s foreign guest worker program. Nearly 500,000 foreign workers hold OPT status and most of them work in STEM fields. More than one-third of international students in the United States have work authorization, primarily through OPT.
There are nearly as many OPT holders as there are H-1B holders, yet OPT lacks even the minimal safeguards of the H-1B program. OPT permits are completely uncapped, lack a minimum wage floor, and come with no requirement that employers attempt to fill positions with American workers before hiring foreign workers. Employers actually get a 15% discount for hiring an OPT holder, as both employers and OPT workers are generally exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes.
The OPT system incentivizes employers to pass over American graduates and hire foreign guest workers, especially in STEM fields—and that’s exactly what has happened. Today, one-third of computer science graduates and half of computer programming graduates are unemployed six months after graduation. Many large tech companies complain about a shortage of workers, but that could not be further from the truth. In 2023, American colleges graduated 134,000 American citizens or green card holders with computer science degrees. That same year, the federal government handed out work permits to 110,000 foreign guest workers in computer occupations.
Moreover, without vetting safeguards, OPT poses national security risks. One out of four OPT holders come from the People’s Republic of China. At Columbia University, where radicalism has become a public safety risk, nearly twenty percent of the student body holds an OPT permit. And when the Trump administration reviewed the visas of students involved in pro-Palestine protests or with criminal histories, it found it necessary to terminate OPT permits from multiple universities.
I have introduced legislation to eliminate OPT so that more American students can graduate with dignity and enter the workforce with good-paying jobs, and I am very grateful for President Trump’s efforts to reform the H-1B program.
But regulators created OPT, so regulators can end it, too. If a complete reversal of OPT is not possible, the program should at the very least be capped and limited to only the best and brightest students, with wage requirements that match the salaries of the best and brightest American tech graduates. A wage floor between $90,000-$115,000, forexample, would match the mean salary for computer and information sciences graduates in the class of 2023. Corporations should also be required to follow a set procedure for attempting to hire American graduates before hiring an OPT worker and should pay the same Medicare and Social Security taxes on those workers that they pay for their other employees.
Finally, OPT applicants should be vetted for their commitment to the nation’s founding principles and the American way of life, and no permits should be given to students from foreign adversaries.
Building greater opportunity for American graduates requires ending programs that encourage employers to displace talented American workers and seek foreign labor instead. That is why I urge you to end the unlawful OPT program, or reform and limit the program to ensure that employers put American workers first. Our graduates, and the American people, deserve nothing less.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter, and for your efforts to put America first.
###