Unless they aren't being offered interviews, it's probably because they can't code. I don't mean that in a bad way but programming is not a skill that is emphasized in most undergrad CS programs.

It's kind of a catch22 but that's one reason we have these boot camps / tutorials etc...

Compared to normal years, my local impression is that kids about to graduate really aren't being offered interviews. And those who just finished a summer internship that would usually have led to a job offer mostly didn't get those job offers. It really sucks to be them.

The normal path back in the day was QA first then dev. Sometimes you could jump the line via an internship but it was rare.

This is true, but this is literally right now under exceptional circumstances (hiring freezes, reduced head counts etc. while COVID progresses). The last time this was true was after '08 - '10 or so.

I don't think grandparent comment is talking about the situation now, it was a more general comment about H1Bs under normal circumstances being forced to work long hours by employers under threat of job loss.