The profiling of foreign students is rational and legitimate Sixty years ago, the United States locked Japanese, German and Italian-Americans in internment camps. Our country also excluded people of various nationalities simply because we didn't like "their kind". The government's scrutiny of Middle Eastern students in response to 9/11 has therefore raised acute suspicions and fears that the Hollywood "The Siege" scenario will become a reality. Others fear that, even if internment is a remote possibility, the recent increased attention towards a group of foreign students amounts to racial profiling. These fears are perfectly reasonable but, fortunately, not supported by what has happened so far. As much as Americans today insist on treating people as individuals, there are some regrettable circumstances in which grouping serves legitimate purposes. The Supreme Court has recognized the need for grouping by subjecting “inherently suspect” classifications such as race to a standard of “rigorous scrutiny,” while letting classifications with a reasonable purpose pass through “intermediate scrutiny.” Fundamentally, the Court asks whether there is a “rational basis” for a government policy that treats a particular group of people differently. In its recent treatment of foreign students, the government has demonstrated a “rational basis” for measures that group people together to satisfy a pressing state interest while minimizing the violation of individual dignity. Without vilifying the people and culture of the region, we cannot deny that the Middle East is a hotbed of fanaticism. Thousands of militants were indoctrinated by calls for the violent destruction of all material. nor did they allow universities to notify them because doing so would unduly raise unnecessary fears of persecution. The education of foreign students is an important tool of American foreign policy. Foreign students serve as dual ambassadors, fostering better understanding between citizens of their home countries and those of the United States. They bring elements of their culture to America while bringing elements of our culture home to their societies. We must remember, however, that this enlightened policy is subject to abuse. The government's recent actions towards foreign students do not amount to racial profiling, but rather to close gaps in the system so that this valuable cultural and educational exchange program can continue.