Business Journal Op-Ed

Patriot Act

As the debate continues over extending provisions of the USA Patriot Act that expire this year, lawmakers would be wise to consider unintended consequences of the anti-terrorism law that was passed quickly in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

President Bush believes that the Patriot Act has made America safer, and he is strongly encouraging lawmakers to make all of the provisions permanent.  According to recent media polls, the public majority backs the president’s position even though some are concerned that basic freedoms and civil liberties are at risk.

When I travel, I am often annoyed by the constant checks but also appreciate the need to ensure the safety of the traveling public.  When I was a vice president at Bowdoin College in Maine, several terrorists entered the airline system in our local Portland Jetport to commandeer the planes in Boston and kill thousands.

The terrorist attacks nearly four years ago have not only put America on the defensive but also caused it to roll up the welcome mat for foreign students and scholars wishing to study and perform research at our colleges and universities.  In so doing, our country may have threatened its own national security interests while discharging its obligation to keep us safe.

Even though the State Department is providing some relief, federal regulations and policy changes have placed obstacles in the paths of foreign students and scholars.  They have encountered security-clearance difficulties with the visa screening process and been subject to continuous tracking by the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System.  Students from Arab and Muslim countries have been photographed, fingerprinted and interviewed under oath.  Whether or not we agree that such profiling has impeded terrorism, the effect on international student education has been significant.

International student advisers employed by colleges and universities have seen their tasks become more numerous and complicated.  They work with three new bureaus of the Department of Homeland Security that took the place of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service.  They field requests from the FBI and other government agencies that sometimes infringe on student privacy issues, and attempt to assist students and scholars with the increasingly complex travel matters.

These obstacles, especially when coupled with stricter law enforcement, may have contributed to the first overall decline in the number of foreign students on American campuses in more than 30 years, according to the most recent available statistics.  Worse yet, they may harm the efforts of building a safer world.

Victor Johnson, associate executive director for public policy at NAFSA: Association of International Educators, has said, “International education is part of the solution to terrorism, not part of the problem. When, in the name of security, we carry controls on exchange so far that we threaten exchange itself, we don’t increase our security, we decrease it.” 

Since the end of World War II, Americans have supported educational exchanges for the obvious intellectual and cultural benefits.  International students add diversity to college campuses (for example, there are students from more than 40 countries studying in the Triad), provide many of our citizens with their first extensive contacts with foreigners and add immeasurably to teaching and research in graduate programs. 

Today, the nearly 1 million foreign students and scholars in the U.S. also contribute significant economic benefits. Many undergraduate foreign students pay full tuition – a highly desirable situation for public and independent institutions alike – and they and their dependents spend an estimated $12 billion in our economy annually.

Experiencing the U.S. firsthand is a way to help foreigners break down the stereotypes they grew up with and open their minds to a world beyond their borders.  Internationals educated in the United States have become world leaders, most notably U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.  It is safe to say that the good will for this country generated through experiences of students like these is incalculable.

National security must be a primary concern.  We can all agree on that point.  However, our nation’s policies should also be balanced so that students and scholars from around the world will have reasonable access to the U.S. educational system – for our benefit and theirs.

This opinion-editorial was originally published in the Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area in June 2005.