Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has announced that the administration will grant recognition to 600,000 foreign students to help stabilize troubled universities, alongside plans to enhance the immigration framework to encourage higher-income immigrants.
Laura Ingraham, during an episode of Fox News’ Ingraham Angle, pressed Lutnick on Monday night, questioning, “How does the secretary justify allowing 600,000 students from China’s communist government?”
This inquiry followed President Donald Trump’s earlier statement that the U.S. would keep its doors open to students from China while referencing the figure of 600,000 foreign students.
“The president believes things would unravel without these 600,000 students… Many lower-tier universities could face closure without them,” Lutnick responded.
Continuing, Lutnick stated:
“I’m working on reforms to the H-1B [work visa] program for foreign white-collar contract workers, which is currently quite flawed. Therefore, we need changes there.”
“When it comes to green cards for legal immigrants, the average American makes $75,000, yet the typical Green Card recipient earns only $66,000. So, why are we focusing on the bottom quartile of possible immigrants?”
“This is part of why Donald Trump seeks to revamp the immigration system. We’re aiming to select the best candidates for entry into this country.”
However, Lutnick’s lack of detail leaves it unclear just who those 600,000 foreign students might be, potentially including young adults from various nations.
From 2023 to 2024, U.S. officials facilitated nearly 280,000 Chinese students to pursue degrees ranging from Ivy League schools to “visa mills.” Additionally, 332,000 students from India were allowed to enroll.
This enrollment enables these immigrants to receive OPT work permits for professional positions that many skilled American graduates are also pursuing.
Programs like H-1B and others permit employers to retain about 1.5 million foreign graduates with diverse skills, potentially at the cost of young Americans seeking jobs and settling down.
Reports indicate that upcoming regulatory adjustments may eliminate the lottery system that currently distributes H-1B visas randomly. Instead, the intention is to grant these permits to the employers offering the highest salaries, which could encourage businesses to create better job opportunities for American graduates while reducing dependency on foreign talent.
Ingraham reacted to Lutnick’s assertions by saying, “I think these 600,000 [university slots] should primarily benefit our American engineering students. Given the chance, I believe they can excel.”
