Colleges tend to prefer foreign students (and spies) for the simple reason they pay almost double the resident’ tuition without complaint. US students are not accepted.
When I worked in Detroit, many of our own workers trained in CAD software could not obtain jobs because employers hired foreign students and ‘H’ visa workers.
Workers who are used and abused - working for less because they have no choice - are fed a line of baloney back home. They arrive, have their passports snatched by the employer and work in conditions Americans would not because their immigrant status requires working for a single employer.
Employers hire cheap labor under the guise of being migrant friendly.  That’s the reason no comprehensive immigration reform will make life better for our children.
For years China inserted spies disguised as graduate students because they weren’t required to attend class or take tests.
Bloomberg News reported that 66% of entry-level technology jobs go to compliant foreign guest-workers.
In 2018, the US had up to 143,000 tech openings for candidates with a degree in computer science or engineering.
But the government each year provides Occupational Practical Training work permits to hundreds of thousands of foreigners. 
It also invites roughly 85,000 foreign graduates on H-1B work visas. OPT participants account for up to 50% of new hires. 
Up to 66% of openings went to guest workers. Few of the OPT workers are highly-skilled but will work for lower wages.
More than 70% of non-resident computer science master’s degrees in 2018 came from unranked programs or those ranked low by US News and World Report. Breitbart News has reported on the fraud-ridden OPT program — and its sister program, the Curricular Practical Training program. The latter provides Fortune 500 companies with up to 400,000 cheap foreign workers each year.

Mr. Houghtalng is a Lexington County Chronicle subscriber.

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