Asked about signing the brief, The 19 scholars, many of whom are Latter-day Saints, include some of the nation's foremost experts on Mormon history.Asked about signing the brief, Richard Bushman , an emeritus professor at Columbia University and author of Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling , the definitive biography of Mormonism's founder, said, “

Most Americans have a story about ancestors who came as immigrants to the United States, many under pressure. Mormons were among the most reviled when they came. We have to take a stand with those who flee to America as a refuge.”