What @SenTomCotton fails to realize is that our research labs—in areas like quantum computing—are almost entirely made up of foreign students.

I was one of two Americans (out of ~20 ppl) in my quantum physics lab. (1/x) https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1254428558224736257

The rest came from places like China, Russia, Iran, Israel, Hungary, South Korea, and other countries friendly and less friendly to the United States.

Much of our research and was DOD-funded, and DOD remains one of the largest funders of academic physics research. (2/x)

Prevent these grad students, postdocs, and ultimately faculty members from contributing to US academic science, and you decimate the entire US research enterprise.
(3/x)

Some people will read this and say “well why aren’t there more Americans in our labs doing research in the national and even military interest?”

I have two responses: (4/x)

First, that’s the million (or billion) dollar question that STEM education tries to address. But our policy response needs to be much more.

Look at academic physics salaries vs. what those skillsets can earn on Wall Street or in Silicon Valley. (5/x)

Look at the percentage of corporate and political leaders with post-graduate scientific training and experience vs. MBAs or JDs.

Until we place a higher value on this research, bright Americans will remain a fraction of academic research labs. (6/x)

More importantly, the ability to draw on top talent from around the world is exactly what allows the US to lead in fields crucial for national economic & military competitiveness.

We should never turn away the best & brightest from making their contributions here. (7/x)

The desire to study, learn, work, and ultimately immigrate here is one of the largest components of America’s soft power.

It’s what has made our research enterprise the world’s envy.

We need smart ways to mitigate the China threat that don’t destroy our golden goose. (End)