Senator Feinstein Urges Bush Administration to Include $32.3 Million for
Computer System to Track Student Visa Violators
October 9, 2001

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today urged President Bush to designate $32.3 million of the $20 billion in the Emergency Supplemental appropriations package for the Immigration and Naturalization Service to implement their electronic tracking system of foreign students.

Senator Feinstein also said that she will hold off on her proposed six-month moratorium on student visas after education officials assured her they would provide better cooperation with federal authorities with regard to reporting requirements.

"Today, there is little scrutiny given to those who claim to be foreign students seeking to study in the United States," Senator Feinstein said. "In fact, the foreign student visa program is one of the most unregulated and exploited visa categories. While I will be working to clean up the student visa program, I pulled back on the moratorium for now because the schools have assured me that they will help to reform this program."

In her letter to President Bush on the need for funds for the INS computer data system, Senator Feinstein wrote: "This tracking system was mandated in the "Illegal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act of 1996. Several representatives of higher education institutions, with whom I have met, have indicated their willingness to provide the necessary information to the INS about the students who are enrolled on their campuses. It is crucial that the Administration places implementation of this system on the fast-track."

The following are provisions Senator Feinstein is considering as part of her proposed legislation:

Full Funding Authorization for the INS Foreign Student Electronic Tracking System

• Authorize $32.3 million in appropriations to the INS to begin the implementation of the electronic foreign student tracking system.

New INS Admission Procedures

• Require all foreign students to submit visa applications to the INS for approval before the State Department issues a visa.

• Modify existing law by requiring the INS to conduct comprehensive background checks before the State Department may approve a foreign student visa application.

New Requirements for Schools Enrolling Foreign Students

• Require schools to sign an affidavit certifying their agreement to comply with the terms of the foreign student program and acknowledging the school's responsibility for the student's compliance with the terms of the visa.

• Require schools to report to INS on a quarterly basis on the student's academic status of the foreign student; type of courses taken; date of visa issuance and date of expiration; and any disciplinary action taken by the school as a result of a crime committed by the alien. (In cases in which the student fails to enroll at school.)

Enhancing INS Data Collection and Integration

• Require the INS to upgrade its electronic data system to include biometric data (i.e., fingerprints, photographs) on all foreign students applying to enter the U.S.

• Require the INS to fully integrate data on foreign students so that such data can be instantaneously retrieved at inspections stations at the U.S. ports of entry, State Department consular offices and the FBI.

• Require the INS Foreign Student Tracking System to be integrated with the following electronic "lookout" and enforcement databases: the INS' IDENT system; Interagency Border Inspection System, used by the INS and U.S. Customs Service; the FBI's IAFIS system; and the State Department's Consular Lookout and Support System (CLASS).

• Upgrade and expand the INS electronic tracking system to include spouses and children of foreign students and non-immigrants holding tourist and temporary business visas.

Enhancing Security at the U.S. Ports of Entry

• Deploy additional INS and Customs inspectors at vulnerable land, air, and sea ports of entry to conduct secondary inspection of incoming foreign students.
  

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