National Policies and the International Student: The Arizona Immigration Law

The process of globalization has had far-reaching effects over the last decades. Due to crucial breakthroughs in science and technology, it is now possible for one person to talk to another in a different country in seconds, and news can penetrate every corner of the globe in just minutes. In addition, Friedman (2006), The New York Times columnist, suggests that the business world is now “flat;” traditional barriers restricting entry into the global marketplace no longer exist. Today, entrepreneurs or enterprises can compete or collaborate on the global stage, and the advantages of location are melting away. Considering higher education, Gürüz (2008) discusses how the recent mass mobility of an estimated 2.5 million international students takes place and contributes to the global knowledge economy. Healey (2008) also discusses the concept of globalization in terms of higher education, which he refers to as the “internationalization” of higher education, with particular emphasis on how institutions in developed countries have taken advantage of this phenomenon. Specifically, higher education institutions in some developed countries have strategically profited from the emerging pool of students from developing countries who are increasingly entering the global education market. In England and New Zealand, international enrolment accounts for approximately 13% and 14% of the student body, respectively (Healey, 2008). Countries with a low population and a strong demand for skilled workers find such internationalization beneficial to meet the skilled labor need in addition to earning tuition fees from international students (Bowen, 2010; Hartcher, 2010).