Linda López-Stone

The “foreign students are taking American seats” argument badly misunderstands how U.S. higher education works. International students are only 6% of total enrollment. They are concentrated where America needs enormous amounts of advanced talent: 61% of CS PhDs 54% of Engineering PhDs 51% of Math/Stats PhDs But here is the part everyone misses: Over the last 20 years, S&E PhDs earned by Americans ALSO increased 61%, even as foreign S&E PhDs increased. America didn't replace Americans. It expanded its research machine by recruiting BOTH. And now the domestic pipeline is getting smaller: U.S. high-school graduates are projected to fall 13% to 3.4M by 2041. Meanwhile, global talent recruited through American universities helped produce the MOSFET, LASIK technology, digital-video breakthroughs, Nobel-winning chemistry , foundation of AI and countless other advances. And this is why gutting OPT is so self-defeating. OPT is the bridge between “study in America” and “build in America.” Destroy that bridge, and the best students don't simply graduate and disappear. Many stop choosing America in the first place. Then the talent goes to Canada, Britain, Europe or more and so do the researchers, startups, patents and breakthroughs that would have followed. That was America's genius: Educate Americans AND vacuum up the best minds the rest of the world produces. OPT helps America keep the upside. Destroy the pipeline, and our competitors will gladly take it.