(Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
At 4:42 PM EST on Friday, January 27, President Trump signed an executive order that immediately barred immigrants and nonimmigrant visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Needless to say, the order has had an immediate impact on students all across the nation. According to Inside Higher Education, more than 17,000 students in the United States come from the seven countries affected by the immediate 90-day entry ban: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
According to ABC, schools such as New York University, Portland State and the University of Pennsylvania have declared immigration agents need a court order to step foot on campus. On the other hand, universities such as Princeton and Syracuse have warned students to comply with federal immigration laws.
We did our best to scour the web to find out how individual universities have been responding to the “Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States” act.
President Gregory L. Fenves released a statement:
I am proud to say we have 110 students, faculty members and scholars who are citizens of the seven affected countries — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan. The talents that brought them to UT are deeply valued, and their perspectives represent an essential part of the university.
Many of the UT community members from the affected countries are currently in the United States and we strongly encourage them to refrain from international travel at this time. To those who are abroad, please exercise caution and know that we are doing everything we can regarding your return to UT. My leadership team is monitoring the impact of the order. As its meaning is clarified, we will continue communicating with those affected.
VCU released a statement indicating that the leadership supports the federal program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA.
VCU also stated the university does not know the new administration’s plans regarding DACA but the university is monitoring the situation and will advocate for the young people who were brought to the country as children.
University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel released a statement Saturday morning affirming the University’s commitment to international students and faculty. Despite an executive order signed Friday by President Donald Trump that bans the immigration and travel of people from many Muslim-majority countries, Schlissel said the University will not release the immigration status information of its students.
“The university complies with federal requirements associated with managing its international programs,” Schlissel wrote in his statement. “Otherwise, the university does not share sensitive information like immigration status.”
Duke University president Richard Brodhead and provost Sally Kornbluth emailed staff and students on Sunday morning, calling the restrictions “confusing and disturbing” and advising against international travel for members of the community from the seven countries.
“We are in constant contact with immigration experts, other universities and national associations to understand the implications of the new policies, parts of which have already been successfully challenged in Federal court,” they wrote.
“We have strongly advised students and scholars who might be affected and who have travel plans in the coming days to defer travel outside of the United States until there is some clarity and legal analysis of the situation or, if they must travel, to seek legal counsel before they do,” Princeton University’s dean wrote in an advisory to the university’s faculty Friday night.
Stanford University’s center for international students and the Rochester Institute of Technology have each issued advice against immediate travel out of the country by members of their college communities.
Stanford’s Bechtel International Center, which serves foreign students and scholars and their families, posted on Facebook on Friday its recommendation against travel by people from the seven countries covered in the executive order.
“We recommend that nationals of these countries do not travel,” the post said. “We share your concerns and we, along with several campus partners, are planning to host workshops next week. We will continue to update as this order, and possibly others, unfold.”
Rochester Institute of Technology said in a statement to ABC News that it is reviewing the president’s order.
“We currently have undergraduate and graduate students from more than 100 countries enrolled in our university,” the college’s international student services director, Jeffrey W. Cox, said. “Among those students, 45 are from the countries listed in the executive order. We have informally advised those students to not make any travel plans to leave the United States, even to neighboring Canada, during the next 30 days.”
Rutgers University:
The College of Charleston could not confirm if it has students impacted by the ban. The school’s president, Glenn McConnell, wrote in a statement on Sunday that its international students, faculty and staff, and those who have immigrated to the United States, are valued on campus.
“They are an integral part of the College of Charleston experience, providing diversity of thought, belief and expression and playing a critical role in the free exchange of ideas and cultures – a cornerstone of our educational experience,” McConnell wrote.
Tweet from university President Harris Pastides:
Statement from university president Michael S. Roth:
Wesleyan has welcomed and will continue to welcome students to apply for admission and, if accepted, to enroll regardless of their immigration status. Despite threatening language from the White House, we will continue to treat undocumented students, with or without Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), who apply to Wesleyan identically to any other U.S. citizen or permanent resident in their high school. We are appalled by the religious test that is included in this new immigration order, and we reaffirm that there will be no discrimination on the basis of religion on our campus.
Our international programs, our financial aid policies and employment programs comply with all applicable Federal and State laws. However, we will object to and oppose administrative dictates that violate the law and the Constitution and, if necessary, we will work with others to do so in court.
Our Public Safety Officers do not inquire about the immigration status of the members of the Wesleyan community, and they will not do so in the future. Except where we are required to do so by law, we intend to protect our ability to refuse to partner or assist ICE or law enforcement on questions concerning purely immigration status matters. In particular, we are committed to the privacy of all student information, including immigration status.
Since the signing on Friday of the President’s Executive Order restricting entry to the U.S. by citizens of seven foreign countries, our International Students and Scholars offices, assisted by other staff from across our five campuses, have been working to connect with students, faculty and staff affected by this action and determine how to assist them. Several were out of the country at the time of the Executive Order, including two UMass Dartmouth faculty who were detained at Logan Airport on Saturday despite being lawful permanent residents of the U.S.
We are deeply disheartened by this alarming action that has violated the rights of members of the UMass community and many others. This is not the country we promised to them when we invited them to study, teach and conduct research here.
“The sweeping, indiscriminate and abrupt character of President Trump’s recent Executive Order halts the work of valued students and colleagues who have already passed a rigorous, post-9/11 review process, are vouched for by the university and have contributed so much to our campuses. If it stands, it will over time diminish the scope and strength of the educational and research efforts of American universities, which have been the source not only of intellectual discovery but of economic innovation for the United States and international understanding for our world; and, above all, it will demean our nation, whose true greatness has been its guiding ideals of fairness, welcome to immigrants, compassion for refugees, respect for religious faith and the courageous refusal to compromise its principles in the face of threats.
“We respectfully urge the president to rescind this order.”
Around 100 of Purdue’s 40,000 students are from the countries named in this week’s executive order from the White House and hold non-immigrant visas. Another 10 faculty are citizens of those countries.
Currently, the university is not aware of any of its students, staff or faculty who have been left stranded outside the United States, however, the university remains concerned for them and their families as the result of this order.
The university cautions students, staff and faculty who appear to be affected by the executive order not to leave the United States until the Departments of State and Homeland Security issue new guidelines.
We are deeply concerned by the recent executive order that restricts the ability of our students, faculty, staff, and other members of the UC community from certain countries from being able to enter or return to the United States.
While maintaining the security of the nation’s visa system is critical, this executive order is contrary to the values we hold dear as leaders of the University of California. The UC community, like universities across the country, has long been deeply enriched by students, faculty, and scholars from around the world, including the affected countries, coming to study, teach, and research. It is critical that the United States continues to welcome the best students, scholars, scientists, and engineers of all backgrounds and nationalities.
We are committed to supporting all members of the UC community who are impacted by this executive action.
“Please know that Indiana University does not share the sentiments expressed by [the] executive orders. We have long recognized the absolute necessity of a diverse and inclusive community to an excellent education. Each of you, regardless of your background or country of origin, are welcome in our community. You bring perspectives and experiences that, taken together, enrich the educational experience and prepare our students to thrive in the 21st century. Our student body expresses who we are as a community and reflects our foundational commitment to inclusion and diversity.”
It happened. On January 20, 2017, around 12:00 P.M. EST, Donald Trump was sworn in