{"id":23789,"date":"2020-10-23T15:52:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-23T19:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/?p=23789"},"modified":"2020-10-23T15:54:14","modified_gmt":"2020-10-23T19:54:14","slug":"the-notorious-opt-program-cant-be-mended-so-it-must-be-ended","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2020\/10\/23\/the-notorious-opt-program-cant-be-mended-so-it-must-be-ended\/","title":{"rendered":"The Notorious OPT Program Can\u2019t Be Mended, So It Must Be Ended"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At an October 21 press conference<\/a>, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials announced the arrest of 15 foreign student-workers for fraudulently claiming to be working for companies that did not exist. In addition, as many as 1,100 foreign nationals participating in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program either will have their permits revoked or not renewed.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The actions are the preliminary results of Operation OPTical Illusion<\/a>, a law enforcement operation which began in January with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents investigating OPT employers to establish their validity when they discovered many OPT students were working for the same company, which did not actually exist, according to Acting DHS Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his remarks, Cuccinelli stressed that since almost 99\npercent of workers have already graduated when they gain employment, OPT \u201cis\nmore a work program that places those foreign nationals in direct competition\u201d\nwith U.S. workers. Therefore, combatting ongoing fraud serves another purpose\nbecause it \u201cwill open up those jobs for American workers,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we have seen in this area is what I would call not\nlikely complicit, but a willful ignorance or a level of negligence that leads\nus down the path of terminating their role as designated school officials,\u201d said\nthe acting director of designated school officials (DSOs), whose sole\nresponsibility is overseeing OPT students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there are also larger national security interests to be\nserved in bringing alleged fraudsters to justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe unfortunate reality is that criminals, terrorists and\nother national security threats have exploited and will continue to exploit the\nvisa process in furtherance of their illicit endeavors,\u201d said ICE Senior\nOfficial Performing the Duties of the Director Tony Pham of the results of\nPhase 1 of the operation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pham\u2019s warning echoed those of previous ICE officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is something that can be exploited by types who want to do harm to the country,\u201d stated Claude Arnold, a DHS special agent during the Obama administration, after a 2015 raid<\/a> led to the arrests of three individuals for running fake universities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pham and Arnold\u2019s concerns about national security are in stark\ncontrast to the fecklessly canned reaction from university special interest\ngroups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esther Brimmer, executive director of NAFSA: Association of International Educators responded<\/a> with a defensive statement that ignored the harm the fraud does to legitimate foreign students and American graduates alike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is clear is that this administration feels justified\nin making international students, and now the school officials that support\nthem scapegoats for the nation\u2019s economic woes, at a time when it can\nill-afford to do so,\u201d said Brimmer in a statement absent any concern for the\nAmericans standing in the unemployment line as OPT workers sat in\nillegally-obtained jobs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Operation OPTical Illusion is merely the latest argument\nmade for ending, not mending, a program that acts as nothing more than a\nspringboard to H-1B visas and cheats qualified Americans out of professional\nopportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why not try to mend it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider the arguments made by lawmakers and think tanks on both sides of the political spectrum, as well as non-partisan government organizations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n