Reidy: OPT program making job search for recent American graduates even harder

On June 22, President Trump signed a presidential proclamation suspending most guest worker visas until the end of the year. This is a great start but more must be done to help American jobseekers, especially recent college graduates who are entering the worst labor market in nearly a century.

The reason? A cheap labor program that incentivizes corporations to hire new foreign workers instead of American workers.

In a Boston Herald op-ed "Suspend OPT program so American college grads can find jobs," Nick Reidy explains and informs about a little-known government program that is wreaking havoc on the U.S. labor market:

"President Trump's recent executive order ended the H-1B, H-2B, J-1 and L-1 guest worker programs, which collectively brought in roughly half a million cheaper foreign laborers each year. About 80% of H-1B visa holders make less than their American counterparts for the same job.

But the order didn't touch the massive OPT program. In 2018 alone, the most recent year for which data is available, over 200,000 F-1 student visa holders had OPT authorization. As long as this cheap labor pipeline exists, American college graduates will remain at a disadvantage in the hiring process.

The blame rests with the Washington insiders who created a guest worker system that destroys young Americans' career opportunities, all to boost the profits of the world's richest companies."

Our immigration guest worker policies are badly in need of reform. We shouldn't continue an OPT system that sacrifices our national interest and harms U.S. workers. When employers don't have to pay Medicare or Social Security taxes on OPT employees, an unfair and unwise system is exactly what Washington has created.

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