Immigration Surveillance vs. International Education: The Significance of Street-Level Bureaucrats on University Campuses

• In Event: 40420 - Section on Political Sociology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 15: The Politics of Immigration 2

Abstract

Inbound international education offers benefits to the United States; however, it poses a risk to national security. Using a computer-based monitoring system called the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), the federal government relies on university immigration officers (UIOs) in public and private universities to surveil international students and scholars. This study examines: (1) How UIOs understand and mediate their roles within the discourses, practices, and relations that structure the U.S. international education and national security? (2) What are the mechanisms of the making of street-level bureaucrats who work with and for noncitizens in public and private universities? Based on the current interview data with twenty UIOs at universities with high numbers of international student enrollment, it suggests that these officers hold a complicated position in managing the needs of the federal and state governments, internationalization efforts on campuses, and international students and scholars. Their discretions are shaped by multilayers of politics, including visa regulations, the state’s immigration policy landscape and international education interests, and the university’s global education initiatives. The data also points out that the making of street-level bureaucrats (Lipsky 1969) and state power exists beyond governmental agencies and governing regulations (Jessop 2008; Michell 1991; Poulantzas 1978). UIOs learn their roles and cultivate their identities as state enforcers, educators, and advisors through nonprofit professional organization like NAFSA: The Association for International Educators. The organization is a reliable social actor for providing training resources and a communication channel to connect with other UIOs and ICE representatives. Finally, with the new administration, this study attempts to capture the impact of immigration policy on inbound international education.

Author

• Phattra Marbang, University of Georgia