Immigration, Foreign Policy Experts Discuss Role of Foreign Students in U.S. Security and Foreign Policy

A panel of leading experts in foreign policy, immigration, and Middle Eastern politics discussed the role of foreign students in U.S. security and foreign policy at a National Press Club policy forum July 14.

The panel, hosted by NAFSA: Association of International Educators, included former Congressman and National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States Vice-Chair Lee H. Hamilton; former INS Commissioner and Migration Policy Institute Senior Fellow Doris Meissner, and Council on Foreign Relations Middle East Forum and Energy Security Group Director Judith Kipper.

Lee Hamilton began the discussion with remarks emphasizing the value of international student exchanges to U.S. national security, calling them “one of the most effective tools in the American foreign policy arsenal as we confront challenges around the world.”

“Welcoming foreign students enables us to replace walls of misunderstanding with reservoirs of goodwill,” he said. Hamilton noted the contributions of foreign student exchanges to educating future leaders, saying: “Now is the time for us to seize the opportunity to teach democracy, to teach human rights, to teach the rule of law, and the equality of each man and woman, to all of our children.”

In her remarks, Doris Meissner urged more resources, strong leadership, and a focused policy approach to immigration policy. Meissner questioned the effectiveness of harsh immigration measures taken without adequate attention to intelligence gathering and more effective information-sharing among government agencies. “It is very clear that immigration measures overall are far too blunt a tool to be effective per se in the war on terrorism,” she said.

Meissner called for a national policy expressing the importance of foreign student exchanges for the United States and laying out an action plan to welcome foreign students. “I would say that foreign student programs are a key element of the soft power strategies that we all know are central to our long-term foreign policy interests around the world, and I can assure you that our immigration laws can be administered in ways that would support those long-term interests,” she said.

Judith Kipper spoke about the role of foreign student exchanges in building ties of cooperation between the United States and other countries, and in enhancing Americans' understanding of the world. “The need for exchange in both directions, in my view, is a crucial, critical, vital interest of the United States of America.”

Kipper called for a more welcoming environment for foreign students and urged more foreign-language learning among Americans, noting that globalization and the transnational nature of the challenges facing the United States require strong, informed engagement in the world. “We can't close the doors and build a fence… Because this is it: globalization is here whether we like it or not.”

The report of the NAFSA task force on international student access, which sets out an action plan for ensuring the ability of international students to pursue educational opportunities in the United States, can be accessed at: www.nafsa.org/inamericasinterest