The student-visa crisis emerged from understandable concerns, since a number of 9/11 terrorists held non-immigrant student visas. Unfortunately, suspicion seems to have turned in some quarters to something worse--xenophobia, a fear or hatred of "foreigners," which may hinder progress, notes Alan I. Leshner, chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

"Multi-national research supports life-saving advances and technological innovation, and it enriches the learning environment," Leshner says. "It's important for the scientific community to speak out against xenophobia. It jeopardizes the long-standing, important tradition of cross- cultural research collaborations, and it works against scientific advances that promise to benefit us all."

Since a shaken U.S. government tightened visa rules in the wake of terrorist attacks, the backlog of visa applications from young scholars has continued to grow--from 1,000 cases tagged for review during 2000 to 14,000 in 2002. Sadly, a few members of the U.S. Congress recently have begun to suggest that foreign students may be taking university slots that would otherwise be given to Americans.

International students play an important role on U.S. campuses, since visa holders made up 36 percent of all graduate enrollments in U.S. science and engineering fields in 2000. Computer science, engineering and other fields have reported serious difficulties in recruiting qualified U.S. graduate students. Some 583,000 international students were expected to add almost $12 billion to the American economic machine during the 2001- 02 school year. >from *Fear of 'foreigners' may slow scientific progress*. May 30, 2003

related context
> amnesty international report 2003. people around the world are more insecure today than at any time since the end of the cold war. may 28, 2003
> directory of persecuted scientists and health professionals. human rights are preconditions for scientific endeavor and should be defended and encouraged as a matter of scientific freedom and responsibility. may 12, 2003
> attacks on science: ethics and public health. "january 11, 2002
> ground zero: 911 keys. september 11, 2001 [updated: january 1, 2002]

imago
> where you end and i begin

"The U.S. is losing its dominance in science and technology, according to William J. Broad's article in the New York Times earlier this week. The article looked at the percentage of awards (such as Nobel Prizes in science), published papers, and issued U.S. patents that go to Americans, and found that the U.S. share had declined significantly... http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/03/science/03RESE.html?ex=1398916800&en=f37a1c973069b2a8&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND

Although the trend is real, the article does oversell it... Yet even by more careful measures, the consensus seems to be that the overall U.S. lead is narrowing... *immigration has been a big contributor to the quality of U.S. science* But now, more than any time I can remember, U.S. immigration policy is suspicious of foreigners, and especially those who want to work in technical fields. Regardless of the wisdom of this policy – and I think it is tilted too far toward suspicion – we have to recognize the price we pay by adopting it (not to mention the price paid by the overwhelming majority of would-be immigrants from whom we have nothing to fear). Overseas applications to U.S. graduate schools in computer science and other technical fields seem to have dropped sharply this year; and that's a very bad sign." From 'Is the U.S. Losing its Technical Edge?' by Edward W. Felten, May 7, 2004
http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/archives/000595.html