Grassley urges Noem to stop approving work authorizations for student visa holders

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley on Tuesday sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, calling on her to stop approving work authorization for foreign student visa holders, citing a recent study that found American STEM graduates have a high unemployment rate. 

The senator was citing a Federal Reserve report that found “the unemployment rate of males ages 22 to 27 is roughly the same, whether or not they hold a degree," and that Americans who recently obtained a degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) have a higher unemployment rate than the general public.

"Competition from foreign graduates is contributing to rising unemployment rates among college-educated Americans," Grassley wrote. "This should not be the case. Congress placed caps on employment visas for foreign graduates to ensure that American jobs are filled by American graduates."

Grassley claimed the work authorizations are in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which designates student visas as solely being used for educational purposes and not for employment. 

"In addition to harming American job seekers, foreign student work authorizations also put our nation at risk of technological and corporate espionage," he continued. "For example, over 33,000 Chinese student visa holders have STEM work authorizations that allow them to work in sensitive tech positions."

The latest letter is not the first time that Grassley has pushed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to stop issuing work authorizations for foreign students in the country on a student visa. He also called on the DHS to end the practice in March.

Grassley asked the secretary to provide a response on the work authorizations by Oct. 10 and also requested a staff briefing on the legal authorizations the department is using to justify the authorizations.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.