That’s a contentious issue. Some, mostly progressives, say that we should encourage as many foreign students as possible, since the result is more cultural mixing and understanding. Others, mostly conservatives, say that we should allow far fewer foreign students, since they compete for jobs if they stay and might even be trying to subvert the nation.

In today’s Martin Center article, Guzi He looks at this controversy.

He writes:

One can sympathize with foreigners’ desires to build a better life and still understand that America can no longer remain a cohesive nation if it lets in the entire world’s population all at once. Consequently, most immigrant visas — with the notable exception of visas for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens — are subject to an annual numerical cap established by Congress. So should student visas be.

He suggests the cap be placed at 100,000 per year with a lottery to determine which foreign college applicants would be granted visas.

What would the benefits be? He continues, “While existing visa quotas protect Americans from foreign competition to an extent, a student-visa quota would do something extra. It would close the gap between the number of international students and that of available employment-based visas and green cards.”

Perhaps a concept worth debating.