ICE Identifies Over 10,000 STEM OPT Students Linked to Problematic Employers

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons announced Tuesday that federal investigators have uncovered more than 10,000 foreign students connected to suspect employers in the STEM OPT visa program. Lyons said the cases represent only the tip of the iceberg. He spoke at a news conference detailing findings from a nationwide review of the program.

Homeland Security Investigations officers visited problematic OPT worksite employers in Virginia, Texas, Georgia, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina and Florida. Many of the suspicious OPT employers include nongovernmental organizations. Investigators discovered empty buildings and locked doors at addresses where hundreds of foreign students are allegedly employed.

Hundreds of foreign students are listed as working out of residential addresses. Multiple OPT employers claim to operate from the same address but none actually lease the facility. When someone opens the door, their statements are inconsistent or they claim no knowledge of the business.

Investigators also uncovered phantom employees: foreign students who obtained work authorization through OPT but never showed up for work. Lyons stated that this fraud is deliberate, coordinated and criminal. He added that the fraud is not victimless and is a blatant attack on the goodwill of the American people.

The Department of Homeland Security originally expected only a few thousand foreign students would receive training approval under the OPT program. The STEM OPT program was first created under the Bush administration and expanded under the Obama administration.

Instead, it ballooned into an uncontrolled guest worker pipeline with hundreds of thousands of foreign students currently working in the United States.

Today more than 10,000 foreign students claim to be working for highly suspect employers among the top 25 OPT employers. Lyons said that as the program size exploded, so has the fraud. The announcement marks a significant escalation in oversight of the program.

Vice President JD Vance celebrated the discovery in an X post as another great win for the fraud task force. Vance wrote that the administration will not tolerate foreign nationals abusing the visa system at the expense of the American people. President Donald Trump appointed Vice President JD Vance as fraud czar.

Todd Lyons is departing his post as acting ICE Director at the end of the month. He submitted a resignation letter stating he is leaving to spend more time with his family. The letter states his sons are reaching a pivotal point in their lives and he and his wife wish to spend as much time as possible with them.

Dave Venturella will serve as Acting ICE Director following the departure of Todd Lyons. Venturella is a close ally of border czar Tom Homan and previously worked at a private prison group. ICE has not had a Senate-confirmed director since 2017.

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