1. United States
2. Fla.
3. Letter

I understand that we don't really see eye-to-eye on how to govern. This is why I work hard to see where we can find common ground whenever I send letters to you. In my profession, international students and scholars play a critical role in enriching the academic, cultural, and economic portrait of Florida and our country. I speak as a person who works in an international office of a university. International students make this country safer. It is by creating relationships with future leaders that allows our country to continue to extend the hand of international cooperation. What better way than welcoming students to universities. International students do contribute to the economy. According to the U.S. Success Coalition, international students account for $44 billion annually to the US ecomomy and this purchasing power supports more than 378,000 American jobs. The National Foundation for American Policy found that enrolling international students led to an increase in STEM degrees for domestic and international students. This doesn't even touch on the opportunities for domestic students to have direct connections by working with students from other countries. Graduated international students become our country's biggest ambassadors. Because they have first-hand knowledge of the US, and have worked hard to make connections, they become business partners and entrepreneurs to the US. International students also help fill the gaps in employment in the US. As birth rates decline and the workforce needs replenishing, it is hard working, dedicated, and motivated international students that we want filling the jobs that can't be filled by a dwindling workforce. The current policies that are removing students and changing visa statuses without due process is not the way to make America safer. In fact, the extreme responses is the antithesis of the experience intended when students pay for the visa, tuition, health insurance, housing, meals, and additional fees to study in the US. Should these students be sent away erroneously, these actions create ill-will and trepidation with other countries. These aforementioned points highlight how the current visa deactivation policy is not only taking away from the economy of the US but is not making us safer. I understand the intrigue surrounding the motto of "break it so you can rebuild it," but in some of these instances, breaking it might create irreparable damage.