In mid-December, international students at The University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMass) gathered with the Graduate Employee Organization (GEO), the Graduate Student Senate, United Auto Workers Local 2322 and the UMass chapter of the ACLU to oppose UMass' newly proposed $65 fee added exclusively to the tuition paid by international students, according to The Massachusetts Daily Collegian. At least part of the additional fee will fund the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). According to The Collegian, SEVIS connects colleges and universities to the Department of Homeland Security and monitors all activity of every international student, including the courses they take, their residencies at the college or university, their hours worked and their bill status.

The GEO discussed their opposition to the fee and started a petition to oppose it. In under a week over 850 students had signed, according to The Collegian. According to The Daily Hampshire Gazette, the federal government also proposed imposing a one-time $100 fee upon each international student beginning next fall. The more than 300 international students at UMass already have $24,000 in student expenses. Out-of-state residents pay $22,083 and Massachusetts residents pay $13,320 in expenses.

A major complaint among international students was the additional tuition burden the new fee placed upon them. International students' visas limit them to working fewer than 20 hous per week and they cannot have more than one job. Some students fear that the fee will make it even more difficult for international students to pay their tuition fees.

Other students voiced their disapproval at having to pay for the university to look into their own backgrounds. "Students should not have to pay for our own surveillance," said George Liu, a sudent from China, according to The Gazette.

UMass officials blame the fee on state budget cuts. Frank Hugus, director of international programs at UMass, told The Gazette that only one-eigth of the proposed fee funds SEVIS. He explained the fee was caused primarily by state budget cuts which reduced funding for all international programs by 62 percent. The budget cuts affected both international students and study abroad programs. According to The Gazette, the initial letter sent to international students explaining the increase cited SEVIS and budget cuts as explanations. However, later letters did not mention SEVIS.