The holiday season is upon us, and with it comes a chance to go back home. For many, this brings a sense of excitement, finally being able to sleep in our own beds, eat our mom’s cooking, and not have to shower in communal bathrooms (even if just for a couple weeks). 

For some international students, though, it may evoke a sense of anxiety as to whether or not we’ll be able to return to the United States. 

Coming back from summer break, standing in the immigration line at the Miami International Airport had my heart racing and palms sweating at the thought of being questioned by immigration officers—not because I had anything to hide, but because I no longer knew what would get me in trouble. As I waited, mentally going over every point of reference in my F-1 form—the piece of paper that allows me to pursue academic studies in the U.S.—just in case I was questioned, I witnessed the international student ahead of me in line get grilled by an immigration officer. 

Flustered, he stuttered and stumbled over his words as he tried to explain his living situation, only for the officer to take his stuttering as an indication that he was hiding something. The officer yelled at the international student, accusing him of lying without any proof. 

After that spectacle, the officer called next, and it was my turn to face the music. 

Since you’re reading this piece, it’s pretty obvious nothing bad happened. The officer looked at my passport, asked for my visa, asked me a couple questions, and sent me along. By all means, I was lucky to evade the intense questioning the poor, unsuspecting student in front of me had to go through. Somehow, I didn’t feel lucky then, and now that it’s time for me to return home once again, I’m not sure how far this “luck” will take me. With recent developments on the immigration front, I’m not sure anyone will get lucky anymore.  

Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security issued a notice in the Federal Register stating that Customs and Border Protection is proposing a new requirement for visitors coming to the United States without a visa. The proposal requires travelers from 42 countries who are eligible for the visa waiver program—which allows people to travel to the U.S. without a visa as long as they obtain an electronic travel authorization—to collect five years worth of social media information. C.B.P’s plans to thumb through online speech and then “deny travel based on discretion and policy about the kinds of things that get said,” as Bo Cooper, a partner at the immigration law firm Fragomen, told The New York Times. Therefore, there will be an increase in the likelihood of being flagged due to the closer scrutiny visitors will be under, all in an attempt to “[start] a discussion to have new policy options to keep the American people safe,” as a C.B.P spokesperson highlighted in a statement. From now on, the surveillance of visitors will become normalized, and the line between preventative measures and invasive, takeover tendencies will be blurred beyond recognition. 

The current system in place for countries with a visa waiver states that applicants must enroll in the Electronic System for Travel Authorization program, where they’ll submit an email address, home address, phone numbers, and emergency contact information. Up until recently, listing one’s social media had been optional on the application. Now, as Xiao Wang, co-founder and chief executive officer of the visa and immigration assistance company Boundless Immigration, told The Times, the absence of social media records might be seen as “a sign that the applicant is hiding something.”

While this new proposal may not affect F-1 or J-1—issued to students for exchange visitor programs—visa holders, it definitely sends a message to any foreigner currently residing in the U.S.: make one false move and you won’t be able to come back. 

It feels like we’re creeping closer to a reality we had once dismissed, deemed too authoritarian and dystopian to even consider. Our every move is recorded, and that “eye” that seems to be constantly peeled when hovering over international students feels entirely too observant and scrutinizing. 

It makes me feel the need to retreat and hide as if I have done something wrong without realizing it and my name will somehow find itself on a black list. For a while, it scared me enough to not want to express my opinions online or in writing, because the consequences of potentially saying the wrong thing at the wrong time are more dire than ever. But I also found that the more this “eye” looks around, the more its presence becomes part of our everyday decisions, and the more this administration succeeds at silencing us.  

I encourage you to exercise caution when it comes to posting and writing. Ever since the start of this semester, I’ve become hyperaware of everything I publish—not because I’m necessarily scared of what the government might think of my opinions, but as an extra set of protection in case anything were to jeopardize my future here at Emerson College. Yet, as opinion editor of this paper, I’m also here to encourage you to not stop expressing your opinion, and I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge just how hard it has become to do just that as an international student. 

For anyone out there who is hesitant to share their thoughts and opinions due to the suppressive tactics of the current political climate, you’re not alone. It’s a scary time to be outspoken, but just because it seems dangerous doesn’t mean it’s not worth it to try and speak. 

So if you’re an international student and if you find yourself hesitating to say what you want to say, just know that there is still a way to express your opinions if you look for it, just like I’m doing as you read. 

And please, for the good of all communicators everywhere, keep writing.