{"id":25193,"date":"2021-11-03T13:42:36","date_gmt":"2021-11-03T17:42:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/?p=25193"},"modified":"2021-11-03T13:42:39","modified_gmt":"2021-11-03T17:42:39","slug":"biden-backs-off-opt-oversight-immigrationreform-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2021\/11\/03\/biden-backs-off-opt-oversight-immigrationreform-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden OPTs to Keep Cheap Labor Scheme Going Unchecked"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A fraud-prone employment program involving nearly a half-million foreign students is enjoying a free ride these days. Days after taking office, President Joe Biden aborted efforts to step up regulation of the government\u2019s little known and largely unsupervised Optional Practical Training<\/a> (OPT) system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No enforcement actions have been reported since October 2020, when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that some 1,100 OPT participants would have their permits revoked. Vowing further action, then-Acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli<\/a> declared, \u201cEvery instance of fraud is a job an American worker could have had, and with so many Americans looking for work this crime is even more unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, with Team Biden turning a blind eye, OPT\u2019s national security vulnerabilities and labor abuses go unchecked. With no employment caps, no market wage analyses by the Labor Department, no FICA taxes withheld and virtually no oversight, the administratively created OPT is a boon to bottom-feeding businesses. Just like Bill Gates<\/a> drew it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is extensive fraud, with thousands of \u2018students\u2019 falsely reporting [their status]. DHS has no idea what they\u2019re doing,\u201d says Jon Feere<\/a>, a former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) chief of staff now with the Center for Immigration Studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trump administration\u2019s belated attempt to bring a semblance of order to the loose OPT program is yet another casualty in Biden\u2019s war against ICE<\/a>. An agency memo<\/a> dated Jan. 13, 2021 (seven days before Biden\u2019s inauguration) announced the formation of an OPT Employment Compliance Unit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nICE-led unit was tasked to \u201cevaluate whether employers are adhering to the\nattestations and training plans required under the OPT extension, which will\ninclude on-site visitation. … This evaluation will ensure that employment\nthrough the OPT extension is commensurate with the terms and conditions of\nemployment for other similarly situated U.S. workers, as the employer has attested\nto, as required by law<\/em>\u201d [emphasis\nadded]. A full report was promised by July 31. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

None of\nit ever happened as Biden rescinded the directive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preliminary investigations by the Trump administration had just begun to uncover widespread immigration fraud, including OPT students \u201cworking\u201d for non-existent employers. Noting that Chinese nationals make up a large share of OPT participants, Feere said potential links to China\u2019s military were obvious, and troubling. \u201cIt\u2019s a national security nightmare<\/a>,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With\nenforcement and accountability on hold, America waits for the next\nadministration to clean up the mess. Meantime, untold damage is done daily.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A fraud-prone employment program involving nearly a half-million foreign students is enjoying a free ride these days. Days after taking office, President Joe Biden aborted efforts to step up regulation of the government\u2019s little known and largely unsupervised Optional Practical Training (OPT) system. No enforcement actions have been reported since October 2020, when the Department<\/p>\n

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