Press Room
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ursula Oaks, 202.737.3699 x2553
For Release: Oct 01, 2007
Opinion Article: It's Time to Open the Door More Widely
An opinion article by NAFSA President-Elect Everett Egginton
On September 24, the Las Cruces Sun-News published the following op-ed written by NAFSA President-Elect Everett Egginton:
September 24, 2007
Las Cruces Sun-News
It's time to open the door more widely
By Everett Egginton
At one time, our great nation welcomed the world's "poor, tired and huddled masses." At one time, we accepted boatloads, planeloads and carloads of refugees from Asia, Africa, Latin America and elsewhere, promising them new lives. Much of this has changed since the events of Sept. 11, 2001. While overall immigration policies can be discussed in another article, I want to focus on the huge mistake we are making with our policies that, in effect, tell some foreign students we don't want them.
"The numbers tell us that international student enrollment at America's colleges and universities has declined for three years in a row. That has never happened before," Marlene Johnson testified June 29 before two House subcommittees. Johnson is executive director and chief executive of NAFSA, the Association of International Educators.
"If growth trends in the years before 9/11 had continued, enrollment last year would have been more than 700,000," she said. Official numbers for academic year 2006/07 will not be released until November 2007, but a report by the Institute of International Education says 564,766 international students were enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions in 2005/06.
Johnson advised Congress to establish an International Education Council to help remove barriers that obstruct international students from studying in the U.S by affecting their desire to come to the U.S. and their ability to enroll in American colleges or universities. She said many world leaders who are our closest allies graduated from American institutions of higher education and that "the more friends and allies we generate through these kinds of exchanges, the fewer sources of conflict we have."
She also called on Congress to review the relationship between the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, both of which are responsible for visa policy. Furthermore, she asked Congress to repeal the requirement that the State Department interview virtually everyone who applies for a visa. And she implored Congress to enact strong provisions to make the U.S. more attractive to international talent as part of an immigration law overhaul.
Johnson's requests are not only reasonable; they are critical and should be acted upon immediately.
NAFSA studies show that international students comprise more than half of all graduate students learning about engineering and science at American institutions. After receiving their degrees, many of them stay in the U.S., contributing to our country's research and technology and helping to keep us economically competitive. Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Commerce reports that our country's fifth-largest export is international education. This product brought in $13.5 billion during the 2005-6 academic year. Unfortunately, visa and entry restrictions imposed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have drastically reduced the American share of the overall international student market.
U.S. Rep. William Delahunt of Massachusetts, chair of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee, says we have to "ratchet up and deal with this reality." Ratcheting up will not be accomplished through baby steps. Only meaningful, purposeful strides will help us deal with this reality.
Opening more doors to foreign students will positively and dramatically affect our economy. More importantly, opening these doors will lead to more exposure to the students' cultures, possibly leading to pathways to peace. And there's nothing wrong with that. International students are our allies. We should be their allies, too.
Everett Egginton is dean of international and border programs at New Mexico State University and president-elect of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, the world's largest international education association.
September 24, 2007
Las Cruces Sun-News
It's time to open the door more widely
By Everett Egginton
At one time, our great nation welcomed the world's "poor, tired and huddled masses." At one time, we accepted boatloads, planeloads and carloads of refugees from Asia, Africa, Latin America and elsewhere, promising them new lives. Much of this has changed since the events of Sept. 11, 2001. While overall immigration policies can be discussed in another article, I want to focus on the huge mistake we are making with our policies that, in effect, tell some foreign students we don't want them.
"The numbers tell us that international student enrollment at America's colleges and universities has declined for three years in a row. That has never happened before," Marlene Johnson testified June 29 before two House subcommittees. Johnson is executive director and chief executive of NAFSA, the Association of International Educators.
"If growth trends in the years before 9/11 had continued, enrollment last year would have been more than 700,000," she said. Official numbers for academic year 2006/07 will not be released until November 2007, but a report by the Institute of International Education says 564,766 international students were enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions in 2005/06.
Johnson advised Congress to establish an International Education Council to help remove barriers that obstruct international students from studying in the U.S by affecting their desire to come to the U.S. and their ability to enroll in American colleges or universities. She said many world leaders who are our closest allies graduated from American institutions of higher education and that "the more friends and allies we generate through these kinds of exchanges, the fewer sources of conflict we have."
She also called on Congress to review the relationship between the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, both of which are responsible for visa policy. Furthermore, she asked Congress to repeal the requirement that the State Department interview virtually everyone who applies for a visa. And she implored Congress to enact strong provisions to make the U.S. more attractive to international talent as part of an immigration law overhaul.
Johnson's requests are not only reasonable; they are critical and should be acted upon immediately.
NAFSA studies show that international students comprise more than half of all graduate students learning about engineering and science at American institutions. After receiving their degrees, many of them stay in the U.S., contributing to our country's research and technology and helping to keep us economically competitive. Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Commerce reports that our country's fifth-largest export is international education. This product brought in $13.5 billion during the 2005-6 academic year. Unfortunately, visa and entry restrictions imposed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have drastically reduced the American share of the overall international student market.
U.S. Rep. William Delahunt of Massachusetts, chair of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee, says we have to "ratchet up and deal with this reality." Ratcheting up will not be accomplished through baby steps. Only meaningful, purposeful strides will help us deal with this reality.
Opening more doors to foreign students will positively and dramatically affect our economy. More importantly, opening these doors will lead to more exposure to the students' cultures, possibly leading to pathways to peace. And there's nothing wrong with that. International students are our allies. We should be their allies, too.
Everett Egginton is dean of international and border programs at New Mexico State University and president-elect of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, the world's largest international education association.
