United States of America

Vance: 9 Universities Probed for J-1 Visa Fraud

Is it time to end wage suppression at elite universities or is Vance naming schools as midterm scapegoating?

3 hours ago·Updated 1 hour ago

Vance: 9 Universities Probed for J-1 Visa Fraud

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Above: JD Vance at the White House on Oct. 8. Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Facts

U.S. Vice President JD Vance announced Thursday that the Trump administration is investigating nine universities over suspected J-1 visa fraud. The schools are Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown, MIT, Caltech, Arizona State, the University of Pittsburgh and UC-Davis.
New York Post
Politico
The nine schools use J-1 visas for federally funded grants at a rate of about 61%, compared with a 38% national average, Vance said, adding that American graduate researchers earn roughly $20,000 more than workers brought in on J-1 visas.
The Hill
New Republic
Just The News
Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito said that subpoenas have been served and investigators will examine whether foreign influence or visa abuse by these schools have compromised federally funded research.
The Hill
Spectrumlocalnews
In addition, Vance revealed that Microsoft, Adobe and outsourcing firms Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini were suspended from the Labor Department's PERM program, which companies use to sponsor foreign employees for permanent residency.
Spectrumlocalnews
AP News
In addition, responding to a question about how he personally defines socialism, Vance said that the term in the American context means that "you want to replace American workers with foreign workers, and you want boys to play in girls' sports."
The Bulwark on X
New Republic

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The Spin

Republican narrative

It's great to see Vance crack down on this, as taxpayer-funded research grants ought to bankroll American grad students, not a cheap pipeline of foreign labor that drags wages down. When elite schools lean on J-1 visas at nearly double the national rate, the pattern looks less like recruiting talent and more like wage suppression.

Democratic narrative

By accusing a list of universities of wrongdoing, Vance is scapegoating and the giveaway is his off-base definition of socialism that boils down to hating on foreigners and trans youth. Real wage problems get fixed by funding research and paying grad students fairly. Midterm panic has obviously settled in for the vice president.

Rolling Stone