Fwd: Stanford leadership letter on immigration (fwd)

[Noelle <noelle>]

 > From: "Heather L. Howard" <http://www.stanford.edu/~hlhoward>
 > Date: Sun, 29 Jan 2017 02:13:36 +0000
 > 
 > Begin forwarded message:
 > 
 > From: Community Alert From Stanford University <http://www.lists.stanford.edu/~alertsudps>
 > Date: January 28, 2017 at 5:39:51 PM PST
 > To: Community Alert From Stanford University <http://www.lists.stanford.edu/~alertsudps>
 > Subject: Stanford leadership letter on immigration
 > 
 > Saturday, January 28, 2017
 > 
 > Dear members of the Stanford community,
 > 
 > We write to address questions and mounting concerns in our community and 
 > elsewhere for the welfare of immigrants, and for the effect on the global 
 > academic community, following the executive order issued Friday imposing new 
 > federal travel restrictions. We want to provide the latest information about 
 > what is occurring and how Stanford is responding.
 > 
 > We also want to use the opportunity to reiterate our community values. As an 
 > academic institution with students and scholars from around the world, 
 > Stanford values and in fact depends upon the flow of students, educators and 
 > researchers across borders. National security and counterterrorism 
 > considerations are of course vital to effective immigration policy. But the 
 > current situation is causing deeply regrettable alarm and uncertainty for 
 > many people who are part of the academic community here in the United 
 > States.
 > 
 > As background, the new federal administration issued an executive order on 
 > Friday that, among other things, suspended entry of all refugees to the 
 > United States for 120 days and also barred entry for 90 days for citizens of 
 > Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. News reports have 
 > indicated that individuals from those countries who hold green cards will 
 > need case-by-case waivers to return to the United States following travel.
 > 
 > Since news of a draft of the executive order began circulating last week, 
 > Stanford has been contacting members of our community who are from these 
 > countries to provide information and support, and to engage with concerned 
 > student groups. The Bechtel International Center, Office of International 
 > Affairs, Student Affairs, and many other campus organizations have been 
 > working on these efforts and will continue to do so.
 > 
 > The university is encouraging members of our community who may be impacted 
 > by the executive order to postpone international travel for the time being. 
 > In addition, recognizing the concerns of students and scholars from other 
 > countries not addressed in the current executive order, we are working to 
 > develop broader travel guidance that will be issued in the coming week.
 > 
 > Advisers are available at the Bechtel International Center to support those 
 > who have questions or need assistance. In addition, a gathering is being 
 > planned for next week at Stanford Law School, bringing together immigration 
 > law experts and others to provide additional information and to reaffirm our 
 > support for one another as a community.
 > 
 > We are quite concerned about the experience of one of our students upon 
 > returning to the United States from Sudan late Friday. This graduate student,
 >  a legal permanent resident of the United States, was detained for several 
 > hours at Kennedy International Airport, and handcuffed briefly, upon trying 
 > to return from a research trip. While thankfully she was released, we are 
 > enormously concerned about the anguish this episode caused our student and 
 > her family, and what it may suggest for others in similar situations. An 
 > unfortunate consequence of the new policy appears to be that students and 
 > scholars from designated countries are, for the moment, effectively 
 > detainees in this country.
 > 
 > The Association of American Universities, of which Stanford is a part, 
 > issued a statement on Saturday that we are including below. It, too, 
 > reflects our concerns and priorities.
 > 
 > While we work in the short term to provide support and assistance to members 
 > of our campus community, over the medium and longer term we will continue to 
 > work with AAU and other national partners on strategies for helping to shape 
 > visa and immigration policies in ways consistent with our shared values.
 > 
 > Marc Tessier-Lavigne, John Etchemendy and Persis Drell
 > 
 > Statement by Association of American Universities President Mary Sue Coleman:
 > 
 > We recognize the importance of a strong visa process to our nation's 
 > security. 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. 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.
 > 
 > We also 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. 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.
 > 
 > Other countries have set the goal of surpassing the United States as the 
 > global leader in higher education, research, and innovation. 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.