Two federal proposals containing provisions that limit legal immigration could send a negative message to students overseas who are thinking of attending American colleges and universities, government and University officials say.

Adam Dubitsky, with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said a U.S. Senate and a U.S. House bill would represent the largest cuts in legal immigration in 70 years. He said the bills would discourage international students, who are legal immigrants, from attending American colleges.

Dubitsky said the Senate bill would require U.S.-educated international students to leave the country for two to five years following their graduation. He said many international students would choose to go to school in a country that has fewer regulations if the bills pass.

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Diane Hodgson, SIUC International Student Adviser, said international students could be put off by these laws and may decide against the United States and SIUC.

She said other countries are aggressively recruiting international students, and these bills would make colleges in the United States less attractive.

Dubitsky said the bills would discourage skilled international students and researchers from working in the United States. He said U.S. employers would not want to hire international workers because the bill requires that they get paid more than their American counterparts.

Also, tuition revenues to U.S. colleges and universities would be cut by more than $6.8 billion each year if the bills are passed, Dubitsky said.

These bills dramatically impact tuition, he said. If we really want to put America first, we should not cut immigration. We will hurt our economy and culture if immigration is cut.

He also said the bills would discourage companies from investing research and development money in U.S. universities because private companies give a lot of money to universities to conduct research. He said because the United States is always short on scientists, many companies depends on international immigrants to fill the slots.

Hodgson said she is not sure how the bills would affect SIUC’s international student enrollment, which has been in the nation’s top 20 since 1970.

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She said the House bill would affect her office the most because it would require it to collect information about the student and track their progress through the University. She said the tracking of the students is not a good way to keep good relations with them.

We do not know how this is going to affect us yet, she said. It depends on the final form of the bill.

David Carle, spokesman for Sen. Paul Simon, D-Ill., said Simon opposes the Senate bill in its present form but will offer an amendment today to the Senate bill that would only apply the regulations to illegal immigrants.