Foreign Students

While I commend FBI Director Louis J. Freeh’s overall anti-terrorist objective as pointed out in your Dec. 3 editorial, I am troubled by your focus on the report’s attention to international students and scholars. Our government must be concerned with all who abuse our laws, whether they be tourists, asylum seekers, students or any others. To imply, however, that foreign students--including those who improperly prolong their stay in this country--are disproportionately likely to be or to become terrorists is reckless and, as far as we are aware, totally unfounded. If Freeh has facts or figures to justify focusing on foreign students, he should make this clear.

By publicly singling out not individual malefactors but international students as a whole for “additional scrutiny,” Freeh encourages ill-will toward an extremely important group of people. Foreign students, who make up only one-tenth of 1% of the non-immigrant admissions to the U.S. each year, represent many of tomorrow’s world leaders. International students increase diversity in the student body of our colleges and universities, helping our young people overcome insularity. Further, these ambassadors of the world contribute $7 billion to our local communities annually and represent geographical areas that will be important business partners of the U.S. in the future.

NAOMI F. COLLINS, Exec. Director

NAFSA: Assn. of International Educators

Washington