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human / civil rights
Hetal Malkan had bought an airline ticket to fly home to Dubai for the holidays. She was counting the days to meet her parents when she learned about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on America. That’s when her plans changed.
“I heard the government wouldn’t allow students from the Middle East into the United States and I became very nervous. I canceled my ticket because I was afraid of not being able to come back to finish my studies [at the University of Houston],” Malkan said. “I’m a junior. I want to complete my degree in computer science.”
Two days after she decided to stay, friends convinced Malkan that she should not let the rumors scare her.
“They encouraged me to buy my ticket again and that’s what I did. All I can do now is pray,” Malkan said.
Unlike Malkan, friends could not persuade Sara Irshad, a native of Pakistan who also attends the University of Houston, to travel. Even though she wants to be home on New Year’s Eve, she is not taking risks.
“It’s sad but it’s probably better. It’s the right choice for now. Even my dad told me to stay,” Irshad said. “I know lots of people who will be going to Pakistan, but who knows if they’ll be able to come back again.”
Malkan and Irshad are not alone in their struggle.
Foreign nationals who hold student visas, namely F1, fear that their residency status and their ability to leave and reenter the United States with the freedom they once had.
Since the Immigration and Naturalization Services reported that at least two of the Sept. 11 hijackers entered the United States on foreign student visas, legislators have been demanding closer scrutiny of aliens studying or applying to study at American universities.
According to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the main problem stems from the I.N.S. being unable to track about 500,000 foreigners who come to this country as students annually.
“The I.N.S. has no idea whether the students are registered at the schools that sponsored them or how many there are in the United States today with expired visas,” Feinstein said. “I believe that the vast majority of students come to this country legitimately and with good intentions, but clearly we need to regulate this system to ensure that this program is not abused.”
Responding to the pressures to strengthen counter-terrorism efforts at U.S. ports of entry, the State Department has recently enforced a policy of tougher student visa screenings.
The list of countries whose nationals will face extensive background checks before they are issued their visas include: Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
On Nov. 30, Feinstein together with senators Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, introduced a bill to prevent terrorists from entering the country through loopholes in the immigration and visa system.
The following measures have the deepest impact on the student visa program:
-Implementation by October 2003 of a data system to be shared among agencies. Foreign officers issuing visas, federal agents in charge of admissions of aliens to the United States and law enforcement officers would have access to such a system.
-Gathering of “critical” information, such as the student’s date and port of entry, date of school enrollment, degree program or field of study, graduation or dropout date and failure to report to school after the deadline for registration would be included in the data.
-I.N.S. periodic monitoring of compliance by educational institutions in record-keeping and reporting requirements.
“This bill protects our nation’s openness to newcomers while at the same time [it] adds some prudent steps to our immigration policy to ensure that Americans are safe at home,” Feinstein said.
However, the latest efforts to fight terrorism have its critics.
The American Civil Liberties Union has urged Congress to be cautious with new bills. The group’s officials warned that giving excessive powers to law enforcement authorities may threaten civil liberties.
Beth Tucker, an international student counselor at the University of Houston, said that foreign students are confused with the news about the new legislation.
“They have a lot of doubts and they’re asking for advice,” Tucker said. “We can’t tell them what to do. We just tell them what we know.”
“If they don’t have a valid visa to travel back and forth, there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to get a new one. And if they do, they may not be on time for the beginning of the semester,” Tucker said.
Despite the possible restrictions for international students reentering the United States, University of Houston industrial engineering senior Sarosh Ahmed plans to leave for Indonesia in two weeks.
“Everything is very tense, but I try to remain calm. I’ve been told that the I.N.S. asks immigrants a lot of questions,” Ahmed said.“I hope I don’t have problems when I return.”
© Copyright World Internet News 2006-07
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