Des Moines Sun

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has urged Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to halt the issuance of work authorizations for student visa holders, claiming the practice violates federal law and poses risks to American jobs and national security.

In a letter sent on September 23, 2025, Grassley argued that allowing foreign graduates to work in the United States contributes to higher unemployment rates among college-educated Americans. He cited findings from the Federal Reserve indicating that recent American graduates with STEM majors face higher unemployment rates than the general population.

“Competition from foreign graduates is contributing to rising unemployment rates among college-educated Americans. 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. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), however, is issuing hundreds of thousands of work authorizations to student visa holders in direct violation of the law,” Grassley wrote.

Grassley stated that DHS permits foreign graduates to remain in the country on student visas after graduation in order to work, which he said conflicts with the Immigration and Nationality Act. “DHS even allows foreign graduates to stay in the United States on their student visas for years after graduation in order to work. These work authorizations are incompatible with the Immigration and Nationality Act, which clearly states a student visa is ‘solely’ for the purpose of pursuing an education, not employment,” he continued.

He also expressed concerns about national security, pointing out that more than 33,000 Chinese student visa holders have STEM-related work authorizations enabling them to take positions in sensitive technology fields. “In addition to harming American job seekers, foreign student work authorizations also put our nation at risk of technological and corporate espionage,” Grassley noted. “For example, over 33,000 Chinese student visa holders have STEM work authorizations that allow them to work in sensitive tech positions. The FBI has warned that China is engaging in the ‘systematic theft of intellectual property’ by targeting businesses and academic institutions, and the USCIS ombudsman has found that foreign student work authorizations are ‘currently being used by government actors from countries such as the [People’s Republic of China] as a means of conducting espionage and technology transfer.’”

Grassley referenced his March speech on this issue before Congress and said his office had previously contacted DHS about these concerns without seeing any change in policy.

“If your reply to this letter does not contain a commitment to ending work authorizations for student visa holders, then I expect a detailed explanation of what legal authority DHS is relying on to issue these authorizations, and whether the Department has reevaluated that authority in light of the Supreme Court’s recent rulings on the major questions doctrine and administrative deference,” Grassley concluded.

The full text of Grassley's letter is available online.