May 12, 2008

U.S. Labels MIT Students as 'Security Threats' and Denies Clearance at Ports

Eight graduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have been denied a security clearance by the Department of Homeland Security, which has labeled two of the students “security threats.”

The Tech, the student newspaper at MIT, reports that the eight students, who are affiliated with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, were denied the new Transportation Worker Identification Credential, a clearance that allows people to more easily board and leave ships at American ports. When Woods Hole appealed the decision on their behalf, at least two of the students — from Britain and from Germany — were declared a threat, the newspaper reports.

James A. Yoder, dean at Woods Hole, said the lack of a credential could make it more difficult for the students working on its three research ships.

It is unclear, however, why the students, who were required to submit their fingerprints and copies of their passports, were declared threats. According to the legal code governing the program, a person can be deemed a threat if he or she does not have the right kind of visa. Student visas are not explicitly listed as one of the kinds the government may accept for the program, although the rules allow the Department of Homeland Security some leeway, The Tech reports. Other oceanographic institutions have not tried to get credentials for all staff members and students, and so have not encountered the same problem.

Mr. Yoder said Woods Hole would continue to appeal the decision. “We’re a long way from giving up,” he said. —Karin Fischer

Comments

1. Just another example of the out of control direction taken by the Dept of Homeland Security. No wonder so many people in the world hate the US.

   — al thibodeau    May 13, 08:34 AM    #

2. This brief article does not give enough information to conclude that this is some “out of control” plot of DHS. It may simply be that they do not have the right kind of visas and/or that the policy needs to be re-examined to add student visas. Dealing with these issues can be (and generally is) a huge bureaucratic pain in the you-know-what, but its not always a conspiracy by DHS.

   — EAC    May 13, 09:17 AM    #

3. Given its generous supply of dim-wittedness, an actual DHS conspiracy is not required. Not having the “right kind of visa” does not equal a “security threat.” On the other hand, hobbling America’s ability to do science does constitute a security threat.

   — BertW    May 13, 09:30 AM    #

4. I’m not sure that there’s enough information in this article to conclude that the denial of credentials in this case is the result of “out of control” DHS policy. It may simply be that the students in question do not have the right visas and/or that the policy needs to be revised to include student visas. These issues are huge bureaucratic pains in the you-know-what, but are not always the subject of DHS conspiracy.

   — EAC    May 13, 09:31 AM    #

5. The main point is that these students, most of whom are from countries we consider our allies, are upset about being labeled security threats to the US.

   — julia    May 13, 09:33 AM    #

6. Department of Homeland Security,

   Thanks for looking out for us. I don’t know any of the details about the students in question, so I should wait to pass judgment. By the way, it hasn’t escaped my notice that since September 11, 2001, there have been no successful terrorist attacks within our borders. My wife and children thank you very much. Yours is thankless, dangerous work, and we appreciate it.

   — Esteban    May 13, 10:31 AM    #

7. US citizenship is a primary requirement for obtaining a security clerance. Plain and simple. There’s a good FAQ on ClearanceJobs.com about this stuff.

   — Daniel T    May 13, 10:34 AM    #

8. Perhaps some travel abroad would foster a sense of gratitude for the unrivaled amount of freedom and access to education that we enjoy in America. May I suggest…hmm, let’s see… how about ANYWHERE?

   Yes, do that America-haters and U.S. government-haters. Then give us your comments. I will read them with great interest.

   — American Joe    May 13, 10:41 AM    #

9. As others have posted, this is most likely a bureaucratic snafoo. Those who point to conspiracy forget that policymakers are always imperfect human beings with limited ability to forsee or predict all effects of a situation. It does seem an unjustifiable waste of resources to declare someone a security threat solely on the basis of the type of visa they hold (this is different than denying access).

   As for those of you who think a critique of a government decision is “America Hating”, I would remind you of these three points:
   A) It is the soverign right of each citizen of a democracy to critique the government (and I use the word sovereign intentionally here)
   B) This is how the government gets better so that it can serve and protect us better
   C) Toleration of incompetence through blind obedience and loyalty will weaken our defenses and place the country we love at risk.

   In other words, the greatest threat to our country is a citizenry who believes they have no obligation to make it better and taunts anyone who tries.

   — JS    May 13, 11:49 AM    #

10. It is not “America-hating” to question the policies of the current, or any, administration. Unfortunately – and IMO not debatably – those policies have made it incredibly difficult for foreign students to access education in the US without years of prior paperwork. Is there justification for more scrutiny? Surely. Are those standards subject to question? Absolutely.

    — Al    May 13, 12:05 PM    #

11. As bureaucratically cumbersome as this is, it is not Homeland Security’s fault; it was Woods Hole and MIT’s lack of communication. According to the report, “Although WHOI has been working on the TWIC denials since early April, administrators at affiliate institution MIT seem to have only learned of the troubles yesterday.” Someone dropped the ball.

    — original marci    May 13, 12:24 PM    #

12. 1. Eight foreign research students were denied a special kind of ID that is “issued to workers who require unescorted access to secure areas of ports, vessels, outer continental shelf facilities and all credentialed merchant mariners.” Nothing obviously awry there, as the interviewed students concede. Inconvenient, yes, but not obviously unreasonable.

    2. Two pursued the matter and the review letter said they were “a security threat”. Although they understood being denied a TWIC because they are foreigners, they understandably bristled at the label “security threat”.

    3. So, connotations temporarily aside, what is a security threat? According to the original article, {In the Code of Federal Regulations, a person generally presents a “security threat” if the TSA considers him a threat to national security, to transportation security, or of terrorism. …But a person may also pose a threat if he does not have the right kind of visa….}

    4. By that definition, they may constitute “security threats” merely because of the visa. But this is at best like saying I am a “potential rapist” merely because I am male.

    5. It still might make sense to deny them TWICs. In that case, Woods Hole and the TSA need to find the right level of access.

    — Charles    May 13, 12:24 PM    #

13. American Joe (#8): I was quite impressed with the 5 years I spent in Australia.

    — Charles    May 13, 12:32 PM    #

14. The article is minimalistic in nature —- as such all discussion is purely academic in nature.

    Having Said That, Let me state that for me —- The first and foremost question that comes to mind is that does the Dept. of Homeland Security even have to disclose its reasons for the denial itself —- in other words DHS does not disclose its reasons for denial —- for the disclosure itself will result in a security threat —- And, before everyone jumps on my case —- let me clarify, I am not defending or opposing any DHS actions —- merely, stating that the existing Laws (thanks to the Congress), may permit them to act without having to ever disclose why they acted in such a manner (obviously, such nondisclosure protection can result in some denials for virtually no sensible reasons whatsoever).

    RE: Daniel T (#7) point —- I am not sure whether the requirement of U.S. Citizenship for clearance purposes is absolute —- I am somewhat certain that in the past clearance at various levels has been granted to U.S. Residents (Some U.S. Permanant Residents are probably at this very moment working in positions requiring security clearance) —- an ipso facto clearance to Non-Citizens and Even Non-Residents is in effect (for international information sharing in several instances is essential/vital for satsifying desireable goals).

    — zahid    May 13, 12:43 PM    #

15. I love all the contrived outrage that foreign students are being denied security clearance, and how that somehow is unfairly and arbitrarily imperiling the advancement of science. Remind me again: Were not some of the September 11 attackers in this country on student visas? Why this attitude that academics should somehow be exepmt from measures designed to protect our homeland?

    — J. Ward    May 13, 02:46 PM    #

16. Esteban

    Since 9/11 there have been a number of terrorist attacks within our boarders. Might I remind you of the number of school shootings perpetrated by ‘Americans’, overwhelmingly male.

    I think the greatest threat to our security is that it is only the ‘international other’ that we are told we should fear. Let’s dismiss the campus and school shootings that strike fear in the hearts of parents who send their kids to schools and colleges all across the country.

    I might also encourage you to look into the number of violent crimes committed by soldiers returning from the war.

    Oh. . . and to the person who believes that traveling makes you appreciate American education more, as an educator, I didn’t get that feeling and I have traveled extensively.

    If change is to occur, we need to have a critical dialogue about our country and its trajectory or we may find ourselves surpassed by the very countries that we identify as ‘developing’.

    We are definitely not safer since 9/11 nor will we be because war and violence begets or gives births to people with newly held grudges. The world has become an incubator for a broader diversity of people with grudges against the U.S.

    — Kimberly    May 13, 03:18 PM    #

17. Kimberly (#16), there has been plenty of research debunking the idea that soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are committing violent crimes disproportionately to historical patterns or to society in general. It’s akin to looking at the recent reports of plagiarism among faculty and concluding that today’s professorate are uniquely dishonest and corrupt. That too is not the case — it’s just that the incidents are far easier to uncover and far more widely publicized than they have been in the past.

    — J. Ward    May 13, 03:41 PM    #

18. Many countries like China and Russia and India restricted American excahnge student access to many facilities. Citizens from those countries have free access here in the u.S> And those countries often voted agianst the Us at the uN while getting million of foreign aid.

    — Mike    May 13, 05:17 PM    #

19. One of my postdocs had to go home for a visa renewal (S. America) and it took 3 months to get him back. Some 21 year old functionary in the consulate in his home country doubted the fact that he had institutional support, a job, a letter from me, to justify him as a contributing scientist who is doing important work. I routinely hear of even longer delays for scientists from eastern Europe.

    I have colleagues in such threatening countries as NORWAY who are disinclined to try to get entry into the US for conferences because of how they are treated by the functionaries as they try to get tickets, permits, or otherwise.

    Heck, there’s a blue eagle on my passport, and I find INS (or whatever they are called now) distinctly unwelcoming when I come HOME.

    One of our best assets is teaching the youth of overseas. They become our advocates when they go home—unless we treat them like !@#$ and make them feel like nothing. I have lived abroad, I value that time, experience and perspective. Denying bright young men and women the ability to contribute to OUR science does none of us any favors.

    This seems pretty obvious. America is the poorer when she slams the door on the best and brightest from overseas.

    — biosciprof    May 14, 01:26 AM    #

20. Thank God for the DHS. Otherwise all those homeless people we encounter at airport checkpoints would be unemployde.

    — mad Maxx    May 14, 12:47 PM    #

21. The reporting in this article is inaccurate and imprecise. A TWIC credential is not a security clearance. The students were not denied a security clearance. They did not apply for a clearance – they applied for an optional TWIC credential, which did not even exist before 2007.

    — Greg Pfifer    May 16, 02:09 PM    #

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