The Obama administration is working on multiple tracks in their effort to use immigration policy to undermine American workers. The administration is preparing to make it easier for the technology industry to utilize cheap, foreign labor for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) jobs rather than hire American graduates. Under the proposed rule, which would take effect in February 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would allow foreign STEM degree-holders to remain in the country and work on their student visas for up to three years after they graduate. The proposed rule involves extending the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program—a DHS creation to keep foreign “students” in the country—from 12 months after graduation to 36 months for those in the STEM field.
If implemented, the rule would actually encourage employers to bypass American STEM workers in favor of these foreign workers. In addition to further flooding the STEM labor market with addition foreign workers, the rule would:
- Save companies about $10,000 a year for each of the three years they employ OPTs. Because these workers would technically be considered “students,” employers would not be required to pay payroll taxes for these employees.
- Allow companies to hire workers who do not have the same rights to unionize or freely move from employer to employer as American workers.
By law, DHS must accept public comments on the proposed regulation and respond to them before implementing the change. This is the American public’s opportunity to make its voice heard. If there’s enough opposition, DHS might revoke the proposed rule and never implement it. The deadline for submitting comments is November 18. Comments can by submitted here.
7 Comments
brogue = brought
We need to dramatically reduce the number of students from China at US Universities, a totalitarian country building a war machine designed to fight the US military.
Chinese Student Spies Overwhelm US
By Joshua Philipp, Epoch Times September 19, 2014
While many other countries focus on stealth and finesse for espionage, China’s focus is on mass numbers.
“Our nation is overwhelmed. The problem is too big,” said Paul Williams in a phone interview. Williams is chief information officer at BlackOps Partners Corporation, which does counterintelligence and protection of trade secrets and competitive advantage for Fortune 500 companies.
Student spies—often college kids—play a fundamental role in this system. They help bolster a system of espionage where each person does a small share of the work. It’s based on the idea that you could have one spy steal 10,000 documents, or you could have 10,000 spies each steal one document.
By taking the approach of mass numbers for espionage, the Chinese regime has U.S. intelligence agencies outnumbered. In terms of both keeping tabs on their activities, and prosecuting Chinese spies, the United States can’t keep up.
The idea behind recruiting students as spies, according to Williams, is “if you can groom them in college” then they can be used to gain access to research at universities. After college, he added, “You can pick those students then follow their careers into corporate America.”
The Chinese regime can work spies recruited in college into positions in research, government agencies, or U.S. companies.
According to Williams many Chinese spies are not official spies. “Yes, you have those hardcore Chinese spies, but those are usually the minority,” he said. “The majority are just people who get asked to do something on the side.”
According to sources, the grooming process typically takes place before the students leave to study abroad. They may get approached by Chinese security officials who remind them to remain loyal to the motherland, and ask them to report back with anything that could benefit China.
For them, spying is often viewed as a matter of patriotic duty.
He added, however, that the approach has been shockingly effective. “The Chinese are getting everything,” he said.
“It’s a very complicated network,” said Lu Dong, a former Chinese agent of influence in New York who is now an outspoken critic of the Chinese regime.
The United States isn’t alone in its dilemma of how to defend against China’s mass approach to spying. A similar situation was recently reported in Australia.
China is running spy networks through student associations in Australian universities. These networks are then spying on other Chinese students, pressuring them, and joining activities to defend the Chinese regime’s interests.
China is our enemy. Look at their attempt to take over the South China Sea and warning us to stay out of certain areas. And we continue to educate their students? Political correctness at it’s extreme.
The big lie that big tech promotes is that there is a shortage of STEM degree workers because their unemployment rates are relatively low. True on the second part, the first part is a complete falsehood being promoted by “think tanks” funded by big tech companies.
The fact is that those with college degrees will on average be employed at high rates, but that does not mean they are working in their fields.
Proof? How about the Census Bureau in a July 10, 2014 press release titled: “Census Bureau Reports Majority of
STEM College Graduates Do Not Work in STEM Occupations”
It goes on to report that “74%” of those graduates “are not employed in STEM occupations”. So where is the media on this? Or is what Bernie Sanders said a couple days ago on Sunday television true? He said we have a corporate media that promotes the corporate line, even when the facts are provably the opposite, which is the truth in this case. In all the stories I have read on the TPP 12 nation “free trade” deal I have yet to see one media outlet report that the Korea-US trade deal that went into effect in March 2012 has DOUBLED our deficits with that country. It’s 1984, but 30 years later.
You make me laugh……..listen…..even the Stem guys cannot get a job because the workers are being brogue from overseas….
I know. That’s what I said. I’m glad you agree with me and the Census Bureau. The tech companies are lying when they say there is a shortage of STEM workers in this country, so they claim have to bring in foreign workers. The Census Bureau says their claim is untrue. So what exactly is your argument with my post?
Census Bureau Did a Life Expectancy Report in the early 2000s too
It shows us dying sooner at 1960s levels [more women gettiing heart disease now]. Takes the Social Security will be over-drawn soon argument away.