It is calculated that international students contributed more than $20 billion to the U.S. economy last year, and over $965 million to the Pennsylvania economy. While the value of international education and exchange has long been recognized in the United States, the welcome we extend has always been tempered by a regulatory regime that controls which students are allowed to enter the United States, regulates the conditions under which they are allowed to stay, and enforces the requirement that they depart when they terminate their studies.
The Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has responsibility for overseeing this process, but needs to ensure that measures that stress compliance do not roll up the welcome mat for foreign students.
