Please
see the below press release from NAFSA, my professional organization who
coordinated my visit to your office in March. When political leaders such as
Senator Graham inaccurately describe the immigration status of the 2001
terrorists, others can misuse such statements to suggest that the United States
turn away from international education and from engaging our institutions with
the rest of the world.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bill Roberts, 202-495-2553 or billr@nafsa.org
Katie O'Connell, 202-495-2559 or katieo@nafsa.org
Katie O'Connell, 202-495-2559 or katieo@nafsa.org
WASHINGTON, April 24, 2013 - During yesterday’s hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Lindsey Graham and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano engaged in a colloquy on immigration reform that contained a misstatement of the visa status of the 9/11 hijackers. This historical inaccuracy is being repeated in news accounts of the hearing.
Contrary to what Graham and Napolitano stated, none of the 9/11
hijackers held expired student visas. In fact, 18 of the 19 terrorists who
hijacked airplanes on September 11, 2001, had entered the United States legally
on tourist or business visas. Only one had entered the United States on a
student visa. This information was exhaustively documented by the 9/11
Commission in its supplemental report, 9/11
and Terrorist Travel, which
provides a detailed chronology of each attacker’s visa status and entry to the
United States. The report states plainly: “Hani Hanjour was the only
hijacker to arrive on an academic visa.” DHS, the Immigration and
Naturalization Service before
it, and the Government Accountability Office, among others, have confirmed this
fact on numerous occasions.
Misstating the facts misleads the American public. The reality
is that international students are an asset to our nation, not a threat to
security.
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With
nearly 10,000 members, NAFSA: Association of International Educators is the
world's largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education.
Visit us at www.nafsa.org/policy. To learn more about our advocacy efforts, visit www.ConnectingOurWorld.org and follow @ConnectOurWorld on
Twitter.
