Homey BroDude 🇺🇸

Now that is the $64K question. Additionally, why is he pathologically tolerant of the two backstabbing E-RINOs, @SpeakerJohnson and @LeaderJohnThune , who purposely lost the House and Senate? Why does he tolerate the Pro Forma Sessions? Why does he tolerate the Blue Slips?

My OPT Comment on the Federal Register to end the OPT in its entirety. I did not bother to reformat this for X-it would take too long. The deadline for comments is 9 Nov. regulations.gov/commenton/IC… @WhiteHouse @StephenM @iaproject @NumbersUSA @USDOL @USCIS @VP @HouseGOP @SenateGOP Subject: Re: DHS Docket No. ICEB-2026-0100; RIN 1653-AB01 – Optional Practical Training Fees Comment Urging Termination of the Optional Practical Training Program (1) Introduction I submit this comment in strong support of ending the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program in its entirety. The proposed fees ($70,000 for an initial OPT recommendation and $30,000 for any subsequent recommendation, including STEM extensions, paid by SEVP-certified schools) represent a useful interim step to reduce participation, combat fraud, and protect U.S. workers, but they do not address the program’s fundamental problems. OPT functions as a large, uncapped guest-worker program created by regulation rather than statute, placing hundreds of thousands of foreign graduates in direct competition with American workers (especially recent STEM graduates) while providing employers a structural cost advantage through FICA tax exemptions. My interest stems from longstanding concerns about labor-market effects on U.S. graduates, program integrity, national-security risks associated with technology access, and the principle that Congress—not agencies—should authorize major employment pathways for nonimmigrants. I have followed OPT expansions (particularly the 2008 and 2016 STEM extensions) and related H-1B dynamics for years. (2) Background The relevant regulation is 8 CFR 214.2(f), which authorizes practical training (including pre- and post-completion OPT and the STEM OPT extension of up to 24 months) for F-1 students. Congress created the F-1 category in the Immigration and Nationality Act for aliens who are “bona fide student[s] qualified to pursue a full course of study” and who seek to enter the United States “temporarily and solely for the purpose of pursuing such a course of study.” Post-completion OPT allows work after studies end, for up to 12 months generally or 36 months in designated STEM fields. Participation has grown substantially. Open Doors data show roughly 294,000 OPT participants in 2024/25 (up 21% year-over-year; about 25% of the ~1.18 million international students), with post-completion OPT at ~188,000 and STEM OPT at ~107,000. Congressional Research Service data indicate 418,781 nonimmigrants authorized for OPT in calendar year 2024. Top countries of origin are India and China. The program has no annual numerical cap, unlike H-1B, and employers generally face no prevailing-wage requirement comparable to H-1B. DHS’s current NPRM (published around October 8, 2026; comments due November 9, 2026) proposes the high school-paid fees to combat fraud, strengthen integrity, and protect U.S. workers. DHS has noted risks of the program being used to bypass H-1B caps, fees, and wage rules, and has referenced fraud concerns. H.R. 2315 (Fairness for High-Skilled Americans Act of 2025, sponsored by Rep. Paul Gosar with dozens of cosponsors) would bar employment authorization under OPT or successor programs unless Congress expressly authorizes it. Historical GAO reports (e.g., GAO-14-356) have identified oversight weaknesses regarding employment relatedness, employer data, and risk assessment. (3) Analysis Ending OPT entirely better protects U.S. workers, restores statutory alignment, reduces fraud and security risks, and eliminates an artificial cost advantage than imposing high fees while leaving the underlying authorization in place. Labor-market impacts on U.S. workers and graduates: OPT places a large number of foreign graduates (heavily concentrated in computer science, engineering, and other STEM fields) into the U.S. labor market, primarily at the entry and early-career level. Recent data show elevated unemployment among recent computer science (~7%) and computer engineering (~7.8%) graduates relative to prior years and some other fields (New York Fed analyses of 2024 outcomes). Critics, including some members of Congress and organizations focused on American workers, argue this contributes to competition and displacement for U.S. graduates who have taken on education costs. Employers gain a cost advantage because nonresident F-1 students on OPT are generally exempt from Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes on both the employee and employer side under IRC § 3121(b)(19) while in nonresident status (typically the first several calendar years). Estimates of the fiscal impact of this exemption run into the billions over multi-year periods. Some economic studies (e.g., work associated with Madeline Zavodny, Niskanen Center analyses of STEM OPT growth and wages, and certain patent/innovation studies) find no clear negative effect on U.S. STEM employment or wages and sometimes positive associations with patents or firm activity. Other perspectives and limited analyses point to reduced hours or entry-level effects for natives, or argue that any “complementarity” findings do not justify an uncapped program that circumvents congressional limits. DHS itself has recognized that employing foreign workers in entry-level positions via practical training can undercut American wages and opportunities. The proposed fees aim to reduce participation and “alleviate the job market from depressed wages,” but partial reduction still leaves substantial competition and the FICA advantage intact. Full termination would remove the supply of these authorized workers and eliminate the tax subsidy for preferring them. Circumvention of congressional intent and H-1B limits: OPT has grown into a large parallel pathway. Employers can use it to retain recent graduates while attempting multiple H-1B lottery entries (cap-gap protections further extend this). Congress set numerical limits on H-1B; OPT has no such limit and lacks equivalent wage protections. The program was created and expanded by regulation. Fraud, oversight, and national-security concerns: GAO and other reviews have long noted incomplete employment data in SEVIS, insufficient risk assessment specific to OPT, and cases of employment not related to the field of study. Recent public reporting has referenced large numbers of potential fraud cases (shell arrangements, remote management, etc.). Participants from countries of concern have access to U.S. workplaces, labs, and technologies in sensitive fields. A 2020 USCIS Ombudsman statement and other analyses have noted risks of exploitation for technology transfer or espionage. High fees may deter some abuse but do not eliminate the underlying authorization or fully solve oversight gaps. Agency estimates and unintended consequences: The NPRM’s high fees are intended to protect workers and combat fraud, and DHS has indicated that without such measures it may not be able to operate OPT consistent with integrity goals (potentially leading toward shutdown). However, fees alone may simply shift costs (to students, employers, or higher tuition/enrollment effects) while preserving the program. They do not address the statutory mismatch with the “solely for the purpose of pursuing a course of study” definition once studies are complete, nor do they remove the FICA advantage or the uncapped nature of the pathway. Additional data that would help include detailed, up-to-date breakdowns of OPT employment by occupation, wage levels relative to U.S. workers in the same roles, employer size, FICA exemption utilization rates, and quantified fraud/national-security incident rates linked to OPT. (4) Recommendations Withdraw the fee proposal as currently framed and instead issue a final rule terminating post-completion OPT (and the STEM extension) entirely, or phase it out promptly, so that employment authorization under the program ends. Pre-completion OPT that is truly integral and limited could be reviewed separately, but the post-graduation pathway should cease. Align any remaining practical training strictly with the statutory F-1 purpose of study, with rigorous field-relatedness enforcement, full employment reporting, and no post-completion work authorization. Support or coordinate with congressional action such as H.R. 2315 to make termination permanent and prevent successor programs without explicit statutory authorization. If any limited practical training remains, eliminate the FICA exemption for OPT work, impose prevailing-wage or attestation requirements comparable to other programs, add numerical limits or country-of-concern restrictions, and strengthen SEVIS oversight and enforcement. Provide greater transparency: publish regular, detailed data on OPT employment outcomes, wages, and compliance. (5) Conclusion The OPT program has expanded far beyond any reasonable interpretation of temporary student status into a major uncapped employment pathway that competes with American graduates, provides a tax-driven hiring preference, rests on regulatory rather than statutory authority, and carries documented integrity and security vulnerabilities. The proposed fees acknowledge real problems but leave the core program intact. Ending OPT in its entirety better protects U.S. workers, restores congressional control over immigration employment policy, reduces fraud and technology-transfer risks, and eliminates artificial advantages. I recommend that DHS terminate the program (particularly post-completion and STEM OPT) rather than merely taxing participation in it, and that it support corresponding statutory changes. Recommendations recap: Terminate OPT entirely (or phase out post-completion authorization); support statutory prohibition (e.g., H.R. 2315); eliminate FICA exemption and add wage/oversight controls if any training remains; increase transparency and enforcement. (6) Executive Summary This comment urges DHS, in response to Docket ICEB-2026-0100, to end the Optional Practical Training program completely rather than impose high school-paid fees. OPT is a regulatory guest-worker program (~294k participants in 2024/25, heavily STEM and from India/China) that competes with U.S. graduates, offers FICA tax exemptions creating hiring incentives, circumvents H-1B caps, and has faced oversight and security concerns (GAO findings, fraud reports). While some studies find limited or positive economic effects, the program’s scale, lack of statutory authorization, and advantages for employers justify termination to prioritize American workers and restore proper limits. Fees are insufficient; full termination (with support for H.R. 2315) is the appropriate response.

*** (3M+Cancer) Specialty chemicals and industrial products manufacturer 3M has agreed to pay up to $7.35 billion to settle lawsuits that alleged the company was culpable for groundwater contamination from forever chemicals found in many of its products, including firefighting foam, adhesives, and tapes. The money will be paid out to around 120,000 people over a period of nine years. Read on.... techspot.com/news/114464-3m-…

Susie Wiles.

"The House is nothing more than the larval stage of the Senate." ~HBD

Most did not care about the war. What they cared about were all the failures of the House, Senate and the Administration. Namely the DOJ, FBI, ICE/CBP, @USCIS providing a full blown VISA job stealing invasion, Big Oil/Gas price gouging the public under cover of the Hormuz Strait, etc. Trump surrounded himself with idiots who have an agenda completely at odds with the America First Agenda-just like his First Administration.

*** (Jerusalem) Islamic map of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound depicting the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, ca. 1800.

*** ( @AIPAC ) ‘America is not lost’: Lapid banks on pro-Israel Democrats as AIPAC celebrates 234 wins: middleeastmonitor.com/202611…

*** Add Vizio to the list of TVs that spy on you. Vizio paid $2.2 million (chump change) to settle charges that its smart TVs had quietly tracked what was playing on 11 million screens back in 2017. As part of that deal, the company had to start asking owners for permission first. A new study, however, suggests that telling a current Vizio TV "no" doesn't change much, at least as far as its network traffic goes. techspot.com/news/114427-viz…

*** I TOLD YOU SO! Prepare to defend yourselves, Folks. I called the rout of the @Republicans back in April. This all falls on @SpeakerJohnson @LeaderJohnThune and the entire Trump cabinet of advisors. April 6, 2026: “NO ONE should be donating to these corrupt cowards. The rout of the @GOP in November will be one for the history books." April 11, 2026: "Trump's idiot advisors are setting him up for an historic rout in November. The @GOP is all in on this. Just look at their pathetic lack of accomplishments in the last 16 months...” You know what to do now. Focus on the problems listed below.