SHUHEI MATSUO
Contributing Writer
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were some of the most tragic disasters in U.S. history. The attacks, waged by a small number of anti-Americans, have made it very difficult for the rest of the international community to come, stay or live in the United States, even with legitimate reasons.
Because I arrived in the United States from Japan about six months before the terrorist attacks, it was much easier to get a student visa than it is now. But some people who legally want to come to study or work are facing difficulties acquiring their visas. According to Dawn Levy of the Stanford Report, federal efforts to increase national security have many of America’s almost 600,000 international students feeling the heat of a visa hell, creating consequences for scientific and economic markets. In other words, U.S. immigration laws have become stricter than ever because such a small group of terrorists created one of the most horrible disasters in history.
Also, according to a special poll taken by NPR.com, 41 percent of Americans say they believe that legal immigration should be decreased, versus the 18 percent of Americans who believe it should be increased.
I am not suggesting the U.S. government should not make more restrictions on the immigration laws for foreigners, but there are so many people who simply want to study and work in their dream country.
This summer, I did an internship at a golf company in San Diego, but what surprised me most was how difficult it was to get the internship approved. The point is, I purely wanted to have a great work experience during the summer, and I certainly did. But at the same time, the whole process of getting the internship approved made me feel somewhat rejected from American society as a foreigner.
It is essential to keep terrorists out of the country to prevent another attack on these shores, but there should be opportunities for immigrants to seek out their desired job or education. America is the country of equal opportunity: Those who want to come to the United States and follow the laws to make their dreams come true deserve the freedom and equality that the nation’s Founders wanted.
09-08-2005