In some absolutely massive news announced on X, Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ) announced that he was formally calling on the Trump Administration to end the notorious and noxious OPT program, one which many in MAGA contend allows companies to put lower-paid foreigners first and American workers last.
For reference, the Operational Practical Training program is one that allows foreign students who are studying in the United States under an F-1 visa to become eligible for working in the United States. Under it, all students who get authorization can work for 12 months after graduation, and STEM graduates qualify for another 24 months, meaning that some are here for three years after graduating.
Many MAGA Americans argue that is a way for rapacious companies to find workers they can employ for much lower wages than American graduates would earn, and thus depress wages generally while dispossessing young Americans who need to get a start in life.
So, Rep. Gosar is moving to try and end the program. Announcing as much on X, he said, “My letter to the White House urging termination of OPT program. Our government should not be incentivizing foreign employees over Americans. This badly flawed government program should be eliminated. My bill, H.R. 2315, does just that.”
Making that push in a letter addressed to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Gosar said, “We are writing to illuminate the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Optional Practical Training (OPT) guest worker program that was never authorized by Congress and broadly expanded by the Obama Administration. Americans have never been more ready to be put first. As President Donald J. Trump works diligently to deliver on the America First promise to our nation, we encourage you to identify OPT as a program that is dangerously unauthorized, abused, and costly to the American taxpayer. OPT has never been riper for repeal.”
Continuing, he described how the program functions as a way of avoiding the cap on H-1B visas, saying, “Created in 1992, OPT was never authorized by Congress, thus not subject to certain regulatory oversight. It circumvents the H-1B visa cap set by Congress by allowing aliens to overstay their F-1 student visas to work in STEM fields for up to three years in the U.S. if they completed just one year at an institution of higher education in the country.”
Further, he described how the program seriously harms American graduates, saying, “Advocates of OPT claim the program fills gaps in the U.S. workforce while providing students with experience, but it is filling a gap that the program itself has created by paying cheaper wages for aliens and putting American students last. The program does not offer any safeguards to protect American students. Luckily, OPT was created by a pen and can be terminated by the President’s pen. We cosponsor the House legislation, H.R. 2315, the Fairness for High-Skilled Americans Act, to codify a “clean” termination and prohibit any similar program unless explicitly authorized by Congress.”
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Read Full Article: https://theamericantribune.com/congressman-moves-to-terminate-notorious-opt-program-used-to-replace-american-workers/
