The OPT Program Is In Trump’s Crosshairs; B-Schools Weigh Threat

GROWING THE PIE

Responding to critics, Brad Staats at UNC says OPT and the labor market is not a zero-sum game.

“From where I sit, both as an associate dean and as a U.S. citizen, eliminating OPT would be most unfortunate,” he says. “It’s about how you look at the underlying problem. When one thinks about OPT and immigration, do you focus on growing the pie or carving up a fixed pie?

“People immediately go to that fixed-pie angle, and say, ‘Oh, clearly if you give someone a visa to work, then that means they’re taking the job away from a deserving American who now can’t be employed.’ And if you look at the data, that doesn’t seem to be the case — it’s unfair to say that that’s limiting job opportunities for U.S. workers. Instead, if we look at the skilled labor that we’re talking about here, it’s much more around job creation, around growth, in recognizing that companies have a choice already as to where they locate their workforce and whether they are in the U.S. or move those jobs somewhere else kind of scattered around the world.

“And so, as a result, OPT, that sort of skilled kind of immigration, is something that tends to be overall a net creator of jobs, a net creator of economic growth. I think at a high level it’s something that is positive. And obviously, from a business school standpoint, it would make life much more challenging to recruit the diverse international students that are so important in creating our classes.”

B-school deans, concurring, have made their views well known.

DATE FOR PROMISED ACTION BY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: MAY 22

Diane Hernandez, an employment and immigration law attorney at national firm Hall Estill, helps clients navigate visa concerns. She says that while a knee-jerk response against immigrant labor is understandable during a crisis that includes the highest level of unemployment on record, “targeting this relatively small portion of the overall workforce is not going to have the impact (the Trump administration is) hoping for. H-1B workers make up such a small percentage of workers in the U.S., and they fill specialty occupations, which require at least a bachelor’s degree to even qualify.

“Closing off this path for would-be workers in some of America’s most vital industries is akin to putting a piece of tape on the wall of a crumbling dam.”

Action has been promised by the Trump administration by May 22. Hernandez says Trump, his administration, and the four Republican senators who want to suspend the H-1B and OPT programs all are being short-sighted.

“The OPT program offers a bridge for these graduates to contribute valuable experience and abilities to the U.S. workforce and economy — graduates who have invested in a future in the U.S., and are ready to stay and contribute to its overall success,” she says. “They take hard-to-fill positions, and in many cases, help to maintain America’s reputation as a world leader in research and development achievements in science, technology, engineering, and math. Eliminating the path for these graduates to contribute their expertise in America will automatically create a path for them to contribute their expertise abroad, directly benefiting other countries, many of which are in direct competition with the U.S.

“American business owners that have benefited directly or indirectly from the H-1B and OPT programs must collectively voice their opposition to any measures that seek to hamstring these programs. The path back to a strong economy is not one that includes eliminating programs that contribute to that strength,” Hernandez says.

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