The Patriot Act :: Terrorism Terrorist International Education Essay

The Patriot momentAs the nation watched in horror the atrocities of September 11th, Nassim Benamara watched his future slip away from him. I was very worried, because I was supposititious to start school a week later in Boston, and I did not know if I could still come to Boston, he said.Two weeks later, he boarded a plane from Algiers, Algeria, with his twin brother Saleem, to attend school here.Three years later, Saleem and Nassim have still not made it back to their home country. We learn a lot of stories of international students who go home for vacation, and when they come back they are not let back into the country. We do not want to luck this, so we dont go home ever, Saleem said.Such stories are the result of the unpopular Patriot Act, which was passed on October 26th, 2001, just a few weeks after the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. president Bush then declared that the act was necessary, to make sure that every so-called international student was in fact attending school. Among the components of the act, the Patriot Act greatly restrains international students in their rights. All their medical, library and school files are available to various agencies, including the CIA, FBI and INS.The school files are part of an online database accessible only to those cardinal agencies, named SEVIS, or scholarly person and Exchange Visitor Information System.All schools in the United States with foreign students had to turn over those files by August of live on year, or risk a penalty.With just a click of the button, anyone at the INS drop find out the students grades, classes, the address, and much more.Many organizations, such as the ACLU, were straightaway to denounce the Patriot Act, and the SEVIS registration, as un-democratic.Yet, in this era of terrorism, safety can come at a high risk, David Chanderlain said.As the head of the International Student Office at Northeastern University, it is his job to make sure that all international students are up to date with the new SEVIS forms, that theyre taking enough classes, and much more.Many people dont agree with the Patriot Act, but right now its necessary, he said. Salim and Nassem agreed with him. I dont corresponding to have my home searched, I dont like to be treated like a terrorist, but I understand why they do it. It is for my safety too, and there is not much I can do.