Urge to Scrap OPT

A US Republican senator has urged President Donald Trump to scrap a key work permit programme for foreign students, arguing it harms American graduates and poses national security risks, particularly from China.

Senator Rick Scott, in a letter to Trump, praised the administration’s reported move to curb or eliminate the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme, calling it a “matter in desperate need of your attention”.

“These foreign student work permits not only harm the job prospects of recent college graduates, but are also abused by and create a serious national security risk from a self-declared enemy nation – Communist China,” Scott wrote.

The Florida senator said young Americans are increasingly struggling in the job market. “In the past, recent graduates had a lower unemployment rate than the general population, but since 2020, this has no longer been the case,” he said.

He pointed to particular challenges for STEM graduates. “The jobless rate for recent graduates with computer engineering degrees is nearly double the general unemployment rate,” Scott noted, adding that unemployment among computer science graduates is “over 50% higher than the general jobless rate.”

Scott argued that foreign competition under the OPT programme is exacerbating the situation. “Right now, over half a million student visa holders have OPT work permits,” he wrote, adding that the permits “allow foreign students to compete with Americans for American jobs” and remain in the country after graduation.

The senator also flagged security concerns tied to the programme. Citing the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, he said the OPT system is “currently being used by government actors from countries such as [China] as a means of conducting espionage and technology transfer”.

According to the letter, more than 33,000 Chinese nationals hold STEM OPT permits that allow them to stay in the United States for durations comparable to H-1B visas. Many work in universities and major technology firms, giving them access to “sensitive technological information and intellectual property,” Scott said.

“We cannot continue opening the door to an enemy nation that will happily use our own research against us,” he added.

Scott further argued that the OPT programme lacks a statutory basis. “The OPT program should not exist; it is a purely regulatory creation with no statutory basis,” he wrote, citing provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that define student visas as “solely” for education.

He also criticised the origins of the STEM OPT extension, describing it as a workaround to bypass limits on H-1B visas imposed by Congress.

The senator welcomed indications that the Trump administration is preparing regulatory action. He cited a Department of Homeland Security announcement that it “will amend existing regulations to address fraud and national security concerns, (and) protect US workers from being displaced by foreign nationals”.

Scott said he was “eager to see this rule language” and reiterated support for the administration’s efforts to “protect American jobs and American families”.