A Republican and a Democrat agreeing on anything in this Congress is news in itself. That it concerns immigration makes it remarkable.

Reps. Sam Liccardo (D-CA) and Jay Obernolte (R-CA) have introduced legislation to codify Optional Practical Training, the program that lets international students work in the United States for up to a year after graduation — or three years for STEM graduates. OPT has never been formally authorized by Congress; it exists entirely through regulation, which means the executive branch can gut it without a single vote on the floor.

That vulnerability is the point. The Trump administration has signaled its intent to restrict or eliminate OPT, with a January 2026 DHS letter from Secretary Kristi Noem to Congress stating the department is reevaluating whether the program’s regulatory framework “appropriately serves U.S. labor market, tax, and national security interests.” A proposed rule could dramatically curtail the program.

The stakes are substantial. Nearly 300,000 international graduates participated in OPT during the 2024-25 academic year, a 21 percent increase from the prior year. The program is heavily concentrated in tech and STEM: computer science alone accounts for 31 percent of OPT-authorized workers, with Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Meta among the largest employers. International students contributed $43.8 billion to the U.S. economy in 2023-24, and OPT serves as the primary pipeline to H-1B work visas — 34 percent of first-time H-1B holders transitioned from student status.

The bipartisan push creates an awkward split within Republican ranks. While Senator Jim Banks (R-IN) has introduced the American Tech Workforce Act of 2025 to eliminate OPT entirely, Obernolte is betting that draining the country’s STEM talent pipeline is a fight his party cannot afford to win.

Sources