REPORT: ICE is failing to assess risks in Foreign Student Program

Faisal Shazad and his expired student visa

A fast-growing foreign-student work program is taking jobs from U.S. citizens, while its “alarming mismanagement” poses a national security threat, critics charge. 

“Foreign students, sometimes aided by school officials, are currently abusing the Optional Practical Training program to acquire unauthorized employment in the United States,” said Sen. Charles Grassley, citing a new report from the Government Accountability Office. 

“The federal government does not know where tens of thousands of foreign students in the OPT program are located, who they are working for, or what they are doing while in the United States,” the Iowa Republican said.

OPT enables some 560,000 foreign students to obtain temporary work in their major area of study during and after completing academic programs here. 

Grassley requested the GAO investigation amid complaints of employers hiring foreign students and passing over American citizens.

CLICK HERE to read the Report

Beyond that, “The GAO report reveals extensive and alarming mismanagement by the Department of Homeland Security, proving serious program integrity issues that bring to light potential risks to national security,” Grassley added. 

“OPT is at risk for fraud and noncompliance, in part, because it enables eligible foreign students to work in the United States for extended periods without obtaining a temporary work visa,” said Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents interviewed by GAO acknowledged that “foreign students approved for OPT present a risk for becoming overstays because they are allowed to work and remain in the United States for 12 to 31 months after graduation from school.”

Read the rest of the story HERE.

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