One would presume that as long as the federal government is racially profiling international students, it would at least do it correctly.
Last week, The State News localized a report by The Chronicle of Higher Education that revealed that some U.S. customs officials do not have access to a comprehensive database of foreign students studying in America on student visas. This database, the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, is a detailed listing of every legally held student visa and who owns them - down to address, course of study, arrest record and beyond.
After a Sept. 11 hijacker - posthumously revealed to have entered the United States on a student visa - made history, the USA Patriot Act amended the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act to require all educational institutions to comply in gathering SEVIS data, and expediently updating it, should a foreign scholar not meet the requirements to hold a student visa.
And since, if you're an international student pursuing a diploma on a student visa and also happen to have a Middle Eastern-sounding name or Middle Eastern-looking appearance, the Department of Homeland Security is investigating if you're a terrorist. And, much to the chagrin of the Department of Homeland Security, we now know the system is not in place where it would be most effective.
Jill Drury, the director of SEVIS, told The Chronicle that its initial goal was to have the SEVIS database of foreign students at hand for primary customs officials. When foreign students enter the country, they are asked to provide an entry document, supplementary forms of identification and withstand a line of questioning about reasons for entering the United States.
At that point, a customs official passes them along or directs them to a secondary customs official if they're a first-time student entering the country or they rouse suspicion.
When SEVIS cooperation was mandated by the USA Patriot Act, the goal was to eliminate fake entry documents by providing immediate certification via the database. But, as we've already noted, that database is not yet in front of the customs officials who need them.
That said, we're left to draw two conclusions about SEVIS. First and foremost, it's racist. Its underlying intent is to root through international students under the presumption they are entering the country to do harm. Secondly, it's blatantly obvious that SEVIS is a severe failure - ineffective and wasteful, at best. And accordingly, it's yet another indictment of the boorish, intrusive and borderline illegal USA Patriot Act.
If the federal government placed such emphasis on keeping detailed and current information of international students living in America, actual implementation of the plan would be logical. Instead, it's contradictory to their goal. Customs officials are not at greater advantage with SEVIS, and slipshod implementation of it is a mockery of the schools, students and citizens who have complied in a timely manner.
As long as racial profiling is being legalized by the USA Patriot Act, international students and scholars will be at the mercy of SEVIS and its inefficient directors. Safer borders, indeed.
