The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit concerning visas denied to foreign students and professors based on political views last week.
The suit, filed in conjunction with the American Association of University Professors and the PEN American Center, a leftist literary organization, charges the State Department, the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the CIA with not complying with a Freedom of Information Act request filed in March.
The ACLU requested documents related to several "prominent intellectuals" who were denied visas under Section 411 of the Patriot Act, which allows the United States Government to deny entrance to any foreigner who has "used positions of prominence to endorse or espouse terrorist activity." After eight months, the ACLU had received only one document from the State Department that was deemed unhelpful, according to the ACLU.
The ACLU statement said 61 Cuban students were denied entry less than two weeks before they were scheduled to attend the Latin American Students Association's international congress in October 2004.
The State Department claimed that it was only being consistent with the Bush administration's policies aimed at quickly bringing democratic reform in Cuba, according to the ACLU.
In another incident, Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss citizen and Muslim scholar, was forced to resign his teaching position at the University of Notre Dame when his visa, granted in 2002, was revoked. The request for information was filed after these cases came to light, as stated in Friday's Chronicle of Higher Education.
According to Richard Tanson, senior advisor in the International Studies Office, only one or two University students have either been denied or had difficulty obtaining visas for the 2005-2006 academic year, although he was unable to provide details.
"There have been a number of efforts on the part of the State Department to make the process more transparent," Tanson said. "It is a positive movement, but by no means a will-oiled system."
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