Every summer, tens of thousands of international college students come to the United States under the State Department’s J-1 Summer Work Travel visa.

In theory, this is a cultural exchange arrangement fostering mutual understanding between Americans and foreigners.

In practice, it’s a backdoor work program that quietly supplies businesses with short-term seasonal labor — while undermining what was once a cherished American tradition : the summer job.

Last year, close to 140,000 students from over 200 countries came to the US on J-1 visas to fill lifeguard chairs , take tickets at water parks, serve burgers at fast-food counters and mind children at summer camps — young, temporary employees who show up on time and disappear by fall.

The program is invisible to most of us. In fact, I

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