Paging Tom Friedman

Thank God the U.S. has student visas and H1B visas for the cream of the world's students,  such as that Times Square would-be bomber:

 From the New York Times:

According to immigration officials, Mr. Shahzad arrived in the United States on Jan. 16, 1999, less than a month after he had been granted a student visa, which requires a criminal background check.

He had previously attended a program in Karachi affiliated with the now-defunct Southeastern University in Washington; a transcript from the spring of 1998, found in the garbage outside the Shelton house, showed that he got D’s in English composition and microeconomics, B’s in Introduction to Accounting and Introduction to Humanities, and a C in statistics.

GPA in Karachi = 2.0 = U.S. student visa!

He enrolled at the University of Bridgeport, where he received a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering in 2000, followed by a master’s in business administration in 2005.

From  CollegeData.com on the U. of Bridgeport:

SAT Scores of Enrolled Freshmen

SAT Math	448 average 390-490 range of middle 50%
Score of 700 - 800	1%
Score of 600 - 700	4%
Score of 500 - 600	21%
Score of 400 - 500	48%
Score of 300 - 400	25%
Score of 200 - 300	1%
SAT Critical Reading	447 average 400-490 range of middle 50%
Score of 700 - 800	0%
Score of 600 - 700	3%
Score of 500 - 600	19%
Score of 400 - 500	56%
Score of 300 - 400	21%
Score of 200 - 300	1%
SAT Writing	442 average 390-480 range of middle 50%
Score of 700 - 800	0%
Score of 600 - 700	3%
Score of 500 - 600	19%
Score of 400 - 500	52%
Score of 300 - 400	25%
Score of 200 - 300	1%

ACT Scores of Enrolled Freshmen

ACT Composite	19 average 16-22 range of middle 50%
Score of 30 - 36	3%
Score of 24 - 29	16%
Score of 18 - 23	40%
Score of 12 - 17	38%
Score of 6 - 11	3%
Score of 5 or Below	0

In January 2002 Mr. Shahzad obtained an H1B visa, a coveted status meant for highly skilled workers and good for three years, with a possible extension. Records show that Elizabeth Arden, the cosmetics giant, applied for a visa for Mr. Shahzad; he worked there as a temporary clerk in the accounting department in 2001, through an employment agency called Accountants Inc., according to a timecard found in his trash. 

Granted, he tried to set off a car bomb in Times Square, but in return for the H1B visa, Elizabeth Arden got a "highly skilled" "temporary clerk in the accounting department." Sounds like a good deal to me! The economy would collapse if there weren't an endless supply of temporary clerks to keep wages down. As Tom Friedman has tirelessly pointed out, how can we possibly keep ahead of the Chinese unless we let all the rich families in the Islamic world unload their dumbest sons on us?

My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer