Study in the States Disregards America’s Potential

Surprise! Even though we only have the resources to deal with criminal immigrants (see: Criminal Immigrant Policy is Non-Legislative Amnesty), Homeland Security has launched a new initiative to further devalue Americans destroyed by Barack Obama’s economy. The latest swipe at our national confidence is “Study in the States,” another plan to use foreigners to restore America’s greatness (see: StartUp Visa Act Shuns America’s Entrepreneurs).

Leave it to our president to let an ex-Vice President of La Raza, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Cecilia Munoz, announce that we are unable to deport 10 million illegal immigrants:

There are more than 10 million people who are in the U.S. illegally; it’s clear that we can’t deport such a large number. So the Administration has developed a strategy to make sure we use those resources in a way that puts public safety and national security first. [1]

Washington figured out a long time ago that some problems have more value when they never go away. Criminal aliens are one of those problems (see: Criminal Aliens: An Unaffordable Luxury), valuable now because they are a convenient excuse to let non-criminal illegals stay in the U.S., and continue to exploit our open society.

Given that Homeland Security’s limited resources do not allow for the deportation of non-criminal illegal immigrants, one wonders how Janet Napolitano will cope with the visa and immigration revamp necessary for the ambitious Study in the States:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is launching a new initiative to enhance our nation’s economic, scientific and technological competitiveness by finding new, innovative ways to encourage the best and brightest international students to study and remain in the United States. [2]

Keeping track of things, anything, is not one of our Federal Government’s strengths. Homeland Security has not been up to the task of keeping track of foreigners, including students, who were let in legally on a temporary basis, and decided to stay. This was a problem in 2000, when there were an estimated 2.3 million overstays. [3] It was a bigger problem by 2006, when the number had risen to 4-5.5 million, [4] a figure still relied on by Homeland Security in 2010. [5]

We have a criminal immigrant problem so severe that the White House manipulated it into an excuse for backdoor amnesty. Nevertheless, Study in the States will bring the “best and brightest” to the U.S., and will require coordination among eight federal agencies [6] at a time when we lack the manpower to enforce our immigration laws.

The PR push for Study in the States is another hope-killer for American business owners staring at chains on their doors because of the Obama administration’s anti-private sector policies. Is this really a good time to tell American entrepreneurs who have lost everything that we are replacing them with competition from overseas?  

Foreign students and exchange visitors bring invaluable contributions to our nation, and the Study in the States initiative is an important step in empowering the next generation of international entrepreneurs right here in America. [7]

Homeland Security refers to non-immigrants in its Study in the States Fact Sheet:

DHS welcomes nonimmigrant students and exchange visitors to study in the United States and takes seriously its responsibility to ensure that the international student population is informed about student visa rules and regulations and in compliance with student visa requirements. [8]

DHS and the White House need to get their stories straight. Non-immigrants are foreigners who come to the U.S. on a temporary basis, but the Obama administration argues that foreign students should be allowed to stay, instead of being forced to leave when their visas expire. Either way, many foreign students become overstays. Despite the link between overstays and the 9/11 attacks, the president takes a benign view of the problem:

Today, there are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants here in the United States.  Some crossed the border illegally.  Others avoid immigration laws by overstaying their visas.  Regardless of how they came, the overwhelming majority of these folks are just trying to earn a living and provide for their families.  (Applause.) [9]

How will Study in the States play out? If Homeland Security does not have the resources to enforce our laws, it is hard to imagine how the demands of a new program will improve the situation. This may be the first step in justifying amnesty for overstays, using the argument that we need to keep the best and brightest in the U.S. Presumably, this will exclude overstays like the 9/11 hijackers. Secretary Napolitano’s representation that “It also will help us ensure the international student population is clearly informed about student visa rules and regulations.” [10] is nonsense. If DHS has not been able to deal with the overstay problem since 2000, it will certainly not be able to on Janet Napolitano’s watch.

Worst of all, Study in the States devalues and disregards America’s potential. We have never had a president who so outwardly rejects everything that made America an economic powerhouse, or who so zealously seeks to divide up our dwindling wealth and opportunities. In better times, the best and brightest referred to Americans. With Barack Obama in the White House, it means everyone but Americans.

1...The White House Blog. Cecilia Munoz. Immigration Update: Maximizing Public Safety and Better Focusing Resources. August 18, 2011.  http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/08/18/immigration-update-maximizing-public-safety-and-better-focusing-resources, retrieved October 1, 2011.

2...Department of Homeland Security. Study in the States. http://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/about/, retrieved October 1, 2011.

3...Government Accountability Office. Homeland Security. Overstay Tracking Is a Key Component of a Layered Defense. October 16, 2003. Summary Page: What GAO Found.

4...Government Accountability Office. Overstay Enforcement. Additional Mechanisms for Collecting, Assessing, and Sharing Data Could Strengthen DHS’s Efforts but Would Have Costs. April 2011. p. 1.

5...U.S. Department of Homeland Security. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Statement of John Morton, Assistant Secretary regarding a hearing on “Visa Overstays: Can They Be Eliminated?” March 25, 2010. p. 8.

6...DHS.gov. Study in the States,  op. cit.

7...Ibid.

8...Department of Homeland Security. Fact Sheet: Study in the States. September 16, 2011. http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/20110916-fact-sheet-study-in-the-states.shtm, retrieved October 1, 2011.

9...The White House. Office of the Press Secretary. Remarks by the President on Comprehensive Immigration Reform in El Paso, Texas. May 10, 2011. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/05/10/remarks-president-comprehensive-immigration-reform-el-paso-texas, retrieved October, 2011.

10. Homeland Security. Helping the Best and Brightest Study in the States. Secretary Janet Napolitano. September 16, 2011. http://blog.dhs.gov/2011/09/helping-best-and-brightest-study-in.html, retrieved October 2, 2011.