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WASHINGTON -- A Florida congressman is introducing legislation to beef-up security measures surrounding the U.S. student visa program, despite the raft of reforms enacted in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Rep. Gus Bilirakis, a Republican from the Tampa Bay area, said the added measures are necessary in light of the arrests of two foreign-born University of South Florida students after their car carrying explosives was pulled over Aug. 4 in South Carolina.
One student, Ahmed Mohamed, was also charged with trying to help terrorists by teaching or demonstrating the use of explosives. He had applied for and received a Department of State F-1 nonimmigrant student visa to attend classes at USF.
Both men, who are from Egypt, are being held without bail while awaiting further legal action.
Bilirakis and other lawmakers have questioned the Department of Homeland Security's ability to adequately monitor foreign students in the country.
Bilirakis said today a classified briefing he received on security and tracking issues related to the USF student case added to his concerns. He did not give details.
"Once in the country, my legislation will more concretely align the responsibilities and roles of federal agencies and academic institutions in tracking foreign students and ensuring they are here doing what they came here to do," said Bilirakis.
His bill remains in draft form. An outline made available today shows that it will require universities and colleges to keep closer tabs on the activities of foreign students. Under current law, a school has to report within 30 days of the start of an academic term whether the foreign student has actually enrolled and is showing up for classes. Bilirakis' bill would clarify that the school also would have report if a student quit showing up for class later on in the academic term for more than 30 days, or is not heard from for 60 days during a non-academic period.
Bilirakis' draft bill also would require:
-- "the reporting to the Department of Homeland Security of students who transfer to other institutions or programs, or who otherwise require prolonged absence from the academic institution or program from which they are participating;"
-- "foreign students to be active participants in the program for which the student was issued a visa to temporarily enter the United States;"
-- "the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop a plan to address visa security operations, particularly with regard to student visas, and collect necessary data to monitor performance."
Bilirakis' legislation - expected to be introduced within the week - comes as foreign student enrollment is increasing at universities nationwide, according to the Institute of International Education in Washington, D.C.
The number of foreign students rose 3 percent last year, according to the institute.
While the number of international students dipped after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, schools have been aggressively recruiting them to diversify their enrollments, particularly at the graduate-student level.
Under Bilirakis' bill, universities would have to help keep closer tabs on their foreign students, even in non-academic time periods, said his spokesman John Tomaszewski.
"Obviously, what the congressman would like to see is universities cooperating with federal agencies," he said. "This needs to be a partnership - one exists now, but the congressman feels we can do better."
Congress has already passed similar-sounding legislation - much of it contained in the 2002 Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act -- which required an electronic tracking system of foreign students on visas by January 2003.
Congress required that this new system identify who is entering the United States on a foreign student visa; determine whether they are complying with the terms of that visa and whether they have departed on a timely basis; and enable the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to better combat abuse and fraud.
That legislation came after revelations in the months following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that a number of the hijackers enrolled in U.S. schools they never attended. Embarrassingly, six months to the day after Mohamed Atta and Marwan Al-Shehhi flew planes into the World Trade Center, the then-Immigration and Naturalization Service notified a Venice, Fla., flight school that the two men had been approved for student visas.
As part of that new system, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was to require colleges and universities to report when students with F-1 visas are enrolled and attending school, or if they're failing to attend once enrolled.
While those measures are in place, Bilirakis spokesman John Tomaszewski said the congressman believes it can be improved.
Bilirakis isn't alone in questioning whether previously adopted tighter controls over the foreign student program have been effective.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has written Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about the USF students' cases.
In his Sept. 17 letters, Grassley notes the traffic stop took place about seven miles from the Goose Creek, S.C., Naval Weapons Station, which houses a military prison for enemy combatants. He asked
whether "any derogatory information" about either of the men had emerged in homeland security database records, including the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System.
Grassley also asked about any information provided by USF to that database about the men, "including class schedule, attendance, etc."
"After 9/11, we complied fully with new regulations by the federal government and will gladly cooperate with any modifications to those regulations," USF spokesman Ken Gullette said.
Tampa Tribune reporter Adam Emerson contributed to this story. Billy House can be reached at or at 202 662-7673.
Rep. Gus Bilirakis, a Republican from the Tampa Bay area, said the added measures are necessary in light of the arrests of two foreign-born University of South Florida students after their car carrying explosives was pulled over Aug. 4 in South Carolina.
One student, Ahmed Mohamed, was also charged with trying to help terrorists by teaching or demonstrating the use of explosives. He had applied for and received a Department of State F-1 nonimmigrant student visa to attend classes at USF.
Both men, who are from Egypt, are being held without bail while awaiting further legal action.
Bilirakis and other lawmakers have questioned the Department of Homeland Security's ability to adequately monitor foreign students in the country.
Bilirakis said today a classified briefing he received on security and tracking issues related to the USF student case added to his concerns. He did not give details.
"Once in the country, my legislation will more concretely align the responsibilities and roles of federal agencies and academic institutions in tracking foreign students and ensuring they are here doing what they came here to do," said Bilirakis.
His bill remains in draft form. An outline made available today shows that it will require universities and colleges to keep closer tabs on the activities of foreign students. Under current law, a school has to report within 30 days of the start of an academic term whether the foreign student has actually enrolled and is showing up for classes. Bilirakis' bill would clarify that the school also would have report if a student quit showing up for class later on in the academic term for more than 30 days, or is not heard from for 60 days during a non-academic period.
Bilirakis' draft bill also would require:
-- "the reporting to the Department of Homeland Security of students who transfer to other institutions or programs, or who otherwise require prolonged absence from the academic institution or program from which they are participating;"
-- "foreign students to be active participants in the program for which the student was issued a visa to temporarily enter the United States;"
-- "the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop a plan to address visa security operations, particularly with regard to student visas, and collect necessary data to monitor performance."
Bilirakis' legislation - expected to be introduced within the week - comes as foreign student enrollment is increasing at universities nationwide, according to the Institute of International Education in Washington, D.C.
The number of foreign students rose 3 percent last year, according to the institute.
While the number of international students dipped after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, schools have been aggressively recruiting them to diversify their enrollments, particularly at the graduate-student level.
Under Bilirakis' bill, universities would have to help keep closer tabs on their foreign students, even in non-academic time periods, said his spokesman John Tomaszewski.
"Obviously, what the congressman would like to see is universities cooperating with federal agencies," he said. "This needs to be a partnership - one exists now, but the congressman feels we can do better."
Congress has already passed similar-sounding legislation - much of it contained in the 2002 Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act -- which required an electronic tracking system of foreign students on visas by January 2003.
Congress required that this new system identify who is entering the United States on a foreign student visa; determine whether they are complying with the terms of that visa and whether they have departed on a timely basis; and enable the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to better combat abuse and fraud.
That legislation came after revelations in the months following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that a number of the hijackers enrolled in U.S. schools they never attended. Embarrassingly, six months to the day after Mohamed Atta and Marwan Al-Shehhi flew planes into the World Trade Center, the then-Immigration and Naturalization Service notified a Venice, Fla., flight school that the two men had been approved for student visas.
As part of that new system, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was to require colleges and universities to report when students with F-1 visas are enrolled and attending school, or if they're failing to attend once enrolled.
While those measures are in place, Bilirakis spokesman John Tomaszewski said the congressman believes it can be improved.
Bilirakis isn't alone in questioning whether previously adopted tighter controls over the foreign student program have been effective.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has written Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about the USF students' cases.
In his Sept. 17 letters, Grassley notes the traffic stop took place about seven miles from the Goose Creek, S.C., Naval Weapons Station, which houses a military prison for enemy combatants. He asked
whether "any derogatory information" about either of the men had emerged in homeland security database records, including the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System.
Grassley also asked about any information provided by USF to that database about the men, "including class schedule, attendance, etc."
"After 9/11, we complied fully with new regulations by the federal government and will gladly cooperate with any modifications to those regulations," USF spokesman Ken Gullette said.
Tampa Tribune reporter Adam Emerson contributed to this story. Billy House can be reached at or at 202 662-7673.