Universities Worldwide Criticize Trump’s New Travel Ban

Many universities around the world have criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest travel ban, saying it will harm international students.

The ban, which blocks visa issuance to nationals of six Muslim-majority countries, is seen as a long-term threat to the United States’ academic reputation and its ability to attract the world’s best students.

Mary Sue Coleman, president of the Association of American Universities, said the new executive order “poses a fundamental, long-term threat to America’s global leadership in higher education, research, and innovation.”

The travel ban is a revised version of President Trump’s first executive order, issued on January 27, which triggered chaos and protests at several major U.S. airports. The original ban was eventually blocked by the courts after they ruled that the government had failed to provide sufficient evidence to justify it.

Although the wording of the new order has been softened, citizens of Somalia, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Libya, and Yemen are still barred from entering the United States for the next 90 days. The order also suspends the U.S. refugee admissions program for 120 days. It is estimated that the new ban will affect about 15,000 current international students, including 12,000 from Iran.

Coleman said that the organization she represents, which includes 62 leading U.S. universities, believes: “The new order will still restrict thousands of talented students and scholars from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from coming to the United States to study, teach, and conduct cutting-edge research and scholarly work.”

“More troubling still, the order sends the same negative message to talented people from those six affected countries and elsewhere: you are no longer welcome here. That message is especially clear given that the president has not made it explicit that the United States must remain the top destination for the world’s best students, scientists, engineers, and scholars.”

European universities have also criticized the ban. In a statement, the European University Association said: “The European University Association believes that the new executive order continues to indiscriminately target large groups of people and harms the movement and exchange of people. The association is concerned about how this will affect international researchers, university staff, and students who wish to apply for visas and travel to the United States to take part in collaborative projects, academic conferences, research fieldwork, and international study programs.”

The travel ban, set to take effect on March 16, has been challenged by Washington state and Hawaii. A hearing in the Hawaii case is scheduled for March 15.