Universities that lie about their foreign students are putting America at risk
A lawsuit submitted against Columbia University by an employee who suggests she was fired for refusing to lie to the US Division of Homeland Safety has particularly sizeable implications for its foreign-college student program’s upcoming. If the allegations are correct, Columbia will probably lose the potential to enroll new overseas students for at minimum a calendar year.
How lots of other universities interact in this type of unlawful exercise is mysterious, but DHS ought to acquire a nearer glance at the more than 15,000 campuses it has accredited to enroll foreign pupils to guarantee this isn’t taking place somewhere else.
As The Put up 1st noted, a Columbia University Designated University Formal (or DSO, a school’s DHS liaison) suggests she was directed to “process immigration documents on behalf of a team of probable college students from South Africa with out the required documentation, which includes evidence of funding and entire-time engagement in a prescribed system, as necessary by federal laws.”
DSO Yocasta Brens alleges that Stephanie J. Rowley, Columbia’s provost, dean and vice president for educational affairs, “accused Brens of getting as well ‘inflexible’ in the software of federal regulations.” Brens states she and her workers “were commonly requested to ‘bend’ the regulations in buy to preserve the enrollment of global college students at a large level” and directed to “certify that certain worldwide learners ended up enrolled comprehensive-time when they ended up, in reality, not comprehensive-time students” and “extend students’ immigration documents when they did not qualify dependent on federal demands.”
As a prime official with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement less than the Trump administration who worked to address fraud within just our nation’s foreign-college student program, I can guarantee you that the agency’s law-enforcement officials discover these allegations really troubling. ICE’s Student and Exchange and Visitor Program (SEVP) certifies faculties to enroll foreign college students and guarantees they’re entering exact details into the University student and Trade Visitor Information System, a databases established in the wake of the terrorist assaults of Sept. 11, 2001. SEVIS exists specifically mainly because DHS wants to know if a foreign countrywide fails to manage whole-time enrollment and get motion just before a risk develops. Educational facilities that are unsuccessful to adhere to these nationwide-protection-focused regulations build a important threat to our country and can have their certification to enroll overseas learners withdrawn.

Under the regulation, “SEVP certification of a university or university process . . . will be withdrawn . . . if the faculty or faculty procedure is determined to no longer be entitled to certification for any valid and substantive reason” (emphasis extra). The phrase “any valid and substantive reason” is broad more than enough to protect what is alleged to have taken location at Columbia, but the regulation includes a checklist of examples that constitute a motive for withdrawal, such as a failure to retain data wherever the “student is not pursuing a full study course of study” and issuance of Sort I-20 — the central doc for all overseas learners — “to aliens who will not be enrolled in or carry total classes of examine.” There’s also a catch-all reason SEVP will withdraw certification: “Conduct on the element of a DSO that does not comply with the restrictions.”
SEVP could shortly hand Columbia a Discover of Intent to Withdraw. The regulation points out: “SEVP will initiate an out-of-cycle evaluate and serve the college with an NOIW if SEVP has information and facts that a faculty or college system may possibly no for a longer period be entitled to SEVP certification prior to the university currently being due for its two-12 months recertification” (emphasis included).
DHS depends greatly on DSOs to make sure knowledge on international students are correctly described. This data includes, for illustration, tutorial records, call data, regardless of whether the scholar is protecting a full system of review and any employment related to the controversial Optional Practical Coaching system. These are critical roles regulation created SEVP simply cannot disregard what is alleged to have transpired without having undermining countrywide safety and the legitimacy of the overseas-college student method as a entire. If this is occurring at an Ivy League campus, it is tricky not to think about it going on at much more obscure faculties.
SEVP must immediately start an investigation of Columbia’s complete international-university student application. ICE’s specific agents will require to audit all SEVIS information Columbia offered to determine the extent of the alleged fraud.

It’s troubling these allegations only arrived to gentle in a whistleblower’s lawsuit. ICE should take into consideration a nationwide audit of other colleges to figure out the degree of compliance with these important laws. Congress would be smart to adhere to this intently presented the major national-protection implications. More examination on the scenario is available here.
Suspicious activity can be claimed to ICE as a result of the on the internet tip sort or by calling 1-866-DHS-2-ICE. The agency needs to hear from everyone who has info that could guide in uncovering unlawful activity, no matter if it’s fraud inside a school’s international-student method, employment fraud involving foreign students or any other suspicious activity involving immigration or customs matters.
Jon Feere, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement main of staff beneath the Trump administration, is the director of investigations at the Heart for Immigration Scientific tests.