Scores of universities and academics call for end to Trump immigration order

As thousands protest President Trump's executive order temporarily restricting travel and immigration to the U.S. by foreign nationals from seven Middle Eastern countries, the academic world is taking a strong stand against what many are calling the #TrumpBan or the #MuslimBan.

Not only are individual universities issuing statements denouncing the order and offering support to international students from those countries, but a major university coalition came out against it, and thousands of academics -- many of them highly distinguished -- are signing a petition against it.



Related: How universities are responding to Trump's travel ban

Association of American Universities coalition

What is the AAU?

The Association of American Universities (AAU) is a nonprofit coalition of 60 research universities in the U.S. (plus two in Canada, despite the name).

Member institutions include Boston University, NYU, Northwestern University and University of Washington, as well as multiple schools from the University of California and University of Texas systems and seven of the eight Ivies.

AAU to Administration: order barring return of those w/visas f/some countries stranding students - please end soon https://t.co/4t2djPxuiI — AAU (@AAUniversities) January 28, 2017

Those 62 university members mean that 1.2 million undergraduates and 570,000 graduate students are represented in the AAU.

How is the AAU responding to the travel ban?

AAU responded to President Trump's refugee and immigration executive order -- which launched confusion and protests over the weekend as foreign nationals from the seven affected countries were detained and questioned when entering the U.S. or were stopped from boarding flights -- including multiple international students.

"We recognize the importance of a strong visa process to our nation’s security," AAU President Mary Sue Coleman said in a statement. "However, the administration’s new order barring the entry or return of individuals from certain countries is already causing damage and should end as quickly as possible."

A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) student, for example, is now stuck at home in Iran due to the order. Niki Mossafer Rahmati, a holder of a multi-entry student visa, was home for winter break and is currently not able return to her studies.

MIT is a member of the AAU.

"The order is stranding students who have been approved to study here and are trying to get back to campus, and threatens to disrupt the education and research of many others," the AAU statement said.

What is the AAU calling for?

The organization wants the order by Trump to end immediately.

"We [...] urge the Administration, as soon as possible, to make clear to the world that the United States continues to welcome the most talented individuals from all countries to study, teach, and carry out research and scholarship at our universities," the statement said.

"It is vital to our economy and the national interest that we continue to attract the best students, scientists, engineers, and scholars. That is why we have worked closely with previous administrations, especially in the wake of 9/11, to ensure our visa system prevents entry by those who wish to harm us, while maintaining the inflow of talent that has contributed so much to our nation."

AAU also stresses to the Trump administration how the executive order could threaten the region's place in academics.

"Other countries have set the goal of surpassing the United States as the global leader in higher education, research, and innovation," Sue Coleman said. "Allowing them to replace this country as the prime destination for the most talented students and researchers would cause irreparable damage, and help them to achieve their goal of global leadership."

Petition

Separately from the AAU statement, over 12,000 academics -- including 7,000 U.S. faculty members and 40 Nobel laureates -- have signed a petition entitled Academics Against Immigration Executive Order.

What does the petition say?

It deems Trump's executive order "discriminatory" and "detrimental to the national interests of the United States," and says that it "imposes undue burden on members of our community" -- namely, the academic community, and explains the reasoning behind those three reasons for opposing the executive order.

The petition concludes,



"These bans, as proposed, have consequences that reach beyond the scope of national security. The unethical and discriminatory treatment of law-abiding, hard-working, and well-integrated immigrants fundamentally contravenes the founding principles of the United States.

"We strongly denounce this ban and urge the President to reconsider going forward with this Executive Order."

Who has signed the petition?

Over 7,000 academics and counting, including winners of the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the Fields Medal, the John Bates Clark Medal, the MacArthur Fellowship and other prestigious academic awards.

Signatories also include over 2,000 graduate students, Ph.D. candidates and other scholars.



This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.