Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Monday defended admitting 600,000 foreign students to U.S. colleges, brushing off conservative backlash and tying the plan to President Donald Trump's push for sweeping immigration reforms, Breitbart reported.
Lutnick became the center of a political storm after arguing that foreign students are vital to the survival of U.S. universities, saying the admissions would protect financially fragile institutions while the administration works to remake the immigration system.
Appearing on Fox News, Lutnick insisted that shutting the door on international enrollment would carry heavy costs. "Well, the president's point of view is that what would happen if you didn't have those 600,000 students is that … the bottom 15% of universities and colleges would go out of business in America," he said.
Lutnick used the moment to spotlight Trump's coming reforms, including changes to the H-1B work visa program and the green card process. "I'm involved in changing the H-1B program [for foreign, white-collar contract workers], right? We're going to change that program because that's terrible, right?" he said.
He added: "We're going to change the green card [for legal immigrants] … The average American makes $75,000 a year, and the average [immigrant] green card recipient [makes] $66,000. So we're taking the bottom quartile [of potential migrants]. Like, why are we doing that?"
According to Lutnick, a new "Gold Card" system will soon prioritize high-earning, highly skilled immigrants. "That's why Donald Trump is going to change [the immigration process]. That's the Gold Card that's coming. And that's where we're going to start picking the best people to come into this country," he said.
Trump had earlier endorsed continued admissions of Chinese students, referencing the 600,000 figure.
In the 2023-24 academic year, U.S. colleges admitted nearly 280,000 Chinese nationals and 332,000 students from India. Many later obtained Optional Practical Training permits, giving them access to white-collar jobs often sought by American graduates.
Critics argue that the system squeezes young Americans out of entry-level jobs and drives down wages.
More than 1.5 million foreign graduates now work in the U.S. through such programs. A pending reform would eliminate the H-1B lottery and award visas to the highest-paying employers, a shift aimed at reducing reliance on low-cost foreign labor.
"Those are 600,000 [university] spots that American kids won't get," Fox News host Laura Ingraham said. "I think our American engineering students need to be given the first role at every job, and I think they're brilliant when given half a chance."
The controversy deepened with reports from UK-China Transparency that Communist Party officials often pressure Chinese students abroad to monitor campus life and report sensitive conversations. Scholars said students described surveillance as "omnipresent" and feared reprisals upon returning home.
Lutnick's Catch-22 highlights the Trump administration's tightrope: protecting U.S. colleges dependent on foreign tuition while promising an immigration overhaul designed to put Americans and top-tier talent first.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.