TIRF US Presidential Executive Order on Immigration/Travel Ban Organizational Position Statements (last updated 10Feb2017)

Transcription

1 TIRF US Presidential Executive Order on Immigration/Travel Ban Organizational Position Statements (last updated 10Feb2017) ATA (American Translators Associations) Statement Regarding President Trump s Executive Order on Immigration Source: As the voice of over 10,000 interpreters and translators in the United States and abroad, the American Translators Association is very concerned about President Trump s recent Executive Order to suspend issuing visas to nationals from certain countries in the Middle East and northern Africa. This decision will have a negative effect on interpreters and translators who are citizens of those countries and their personal and business relations with the US. It may have a particularly adverse effect on those interpreters who bravely served with US forces in Iraq. ATA has been monitoring the progress of the US government s Special Immigrant Visa program, which issues visas to interpreters assisting forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. ATA expressed its displeasure in the New York Times in February 2016 ("Visas for Interpreters") when the government attempted to delay and complicate the application process for this program. The government ultimately rejected its plans thanks to pressure from ATA and others. Nevertheless, ATA will continue to raise objections to any obstruction to this successful and valuable program. ATA values the strengths and skills of its diverse membership, which includes a large number of immigrants to this country as well as overseas members in over 100 countries. The experience and expertise brought by these members not only benefit the association, but the nation at large. ATA will continue to monitor the situation and encourages members who are concerned about changes to US immigration policy to contact their congressperson, senator or the President through these links: Sincerely, David Rumsey President American Translators Association

2 Statement by AERA President Vivian L. Gadsden and Executive Director Felice J. Levine on the White House Executive Order on Visas and Immigration Source: President-Vivian-L-Gadsden-and-Executive-Director-Felice-J-Levine-on-the-White-House-Executive- Order-on-Visas-and-Immigration We are dismayed by the Trump administration s unprecedented executive order that harshly restricts the travel of immigrant and nonimmigrant visitors to the United States. Aside from the shockingly discriminatory and counterproductive nature of the order specifically, targeting people of Muslim faith and refugees in dire need of help it also poses grave consequences for the scholarly exchange and collaboration that is at the heart of all science. The administration s executive order would limit the free flow of non-u.s. students and scholars at our institutions, put their safety at risk, and discourage international collaboration with U.S. institutions. It is critical to education research in the United States to have the benefit of engaging and working with talented scholars and students from countries around the world to advance the highest quality scholarship. The new knowledge that stems from this research is also critical to improving education in the United States and worldwide. We urge the White House to immediately revoke its executive order. The risk the order poses, not only to scholarly collaboration and knowledge production but also to America s standing in the world, is far too dire.

3 Statement by the European Association for Language Testing and Assessment (EALTA) Source: Europe is a place where the rights of all those living here and those still to arrive are respected. It is a continent where the diversity of languages and cultures is an inherent constituent of our heritage and reality and is highly valued. Language diversity is key to intercultural communication, mutual understanding, and respect. Recent initiatives at European and international level towards excluding various groups of people from mainstream society seriously undermine these European values. These worrying developments run counter to the principles of EALTA and the Europe we represent. Language assessment, as EALTA understands it, should contribute towards promoting language learning, thereby creating opportunities, not denying them. We endorse similar statements of concern issued by other language associations across the world. We would like to reiterate the sentiment expressed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and remain hopeful for a future where culture and linguistic diversity is viewed as an invaluable asset that enriches the lives of all.

4 Statement from President Rawlings (Cornell University) regarding immigration executive order Source: Dear Members of the Cornell Community, President Donald Trump s recent executive order imposing a 90-day ban on immigrant and nonimmigrant entry to the United States from seven predominantly Muslim nations is deeply troubling and has serious and chilling implications for a number of our students and scholars. It is fundamentally antithetical to Cornell University s principles. Ours is a diverse and global university. More than a fifth of our students are from countries outside the U.S. and our students and faculty are involved in programs and partnerships around the world. Over the last few days, we have been in regular contact with our community members who are directly impacted by the executive order, including students on our Ithaca campus; students, postdoctoral fellows, clinical trainees, and faculty at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City; and students at Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar. We are offering to each our assistance and unwavering support. Cornell will not compromise its admissions and hiring standards of excellence and will continue to solicit, accept, and process applications from international students from around the world, including from the impacted countries. We share the sentiments of many of our peer institutions who have voiced similarly strong concerns about the discriminatory nature of the executive order and the long-term damage it will have on our nation s global leadership in research and education. The Association of American Universities (AAU), of which Cornell is a member, issued a statement yesterday, noting that the executive order is already causing damage and should end as quickly as possible. Cornell stands firmly with that statement, reaffirming our founding principle of any person, any study. Our collective voices may already be having an impact. A Trump administration official earlier today appeared to reverse a key part of the executive order, stating that those from the affected countries who hold green cards will not be prevented from returning to the United States, and several federal judges across the country have blocked, at least temporarily, the implementation of some provisions of the executive order. Still, there is tremendous uncertainty around this policy and how it might be implemented. As a community, we acknowledge the psychological toll this executive order has taken, most notably on those from the impacted countries and their family members and friends. Cornell offers a number of resources (listed below) that I encourage all students, faculty and staff to use as needed. I also want to underscore the ongoing importance of demonstrating respect towards all community members inclusive of background, ethnicity, gender, religion, or political affiliation. There have been troubling reports of bias-related incidents on campus in the past few weeks. We thank members of the community who report incidents through the Harassment, Discrimination and Bias Reporting System. Reporting helps us to address these incidents swiftly.

5 In closing, I want to underscore these important commitments to the Cornell community, including those I made to you in statements late last year regarding the uncertainty around federal immigration policy: Cornell will assist you if you are detained or prevented from re-entering the U.S. while traveling. See the specific resources and phone numbers listed below. The university will continue to honor its commitments to all our current and future Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) undergraduate and graduate students. While it is still unclear how the DACA program will be impacted by Trump administration decisions, our commitments to these students remain firm. The Cornell Law School will provide legal assistance to undocumented Cornell students who may wish to consult with a lawyer about the implications of the federal administration s policies for their immigration status. These legal advisory services will be free of charge. We are exploring the extent to which law school faculty can offer legal assistance to students and scholars from all Cornell campuses detained while traveling or prevented from entering the country. A dedicated team of law school faculty will also offer legal assistance in the form of representation for DACA students in potential deportation proceedings, should the need arise. There would be costs associated with this special legal representation service for DACA students, and a legal representative fund will be seeking contributions. We will continue to protect the privacy of our student information and records from unauthorized or unlawful intrusion. The long-standing practice of the Cornell University Police Department (CUPD) has been not to seek immigration status information in the course of its law enforcement activities, unless related to criminal violations or threats of violent behavior. While Cornell representatives, including CUPD, will comply with lawfully issued subpoenas and warrants, it is neither the university s practice nor expectation to function as an agent of the federal government regarding enforcement of federal immigration laws. We have an obligation to assert our principles when policies and administrative decisions are contrary to those principles. Please join me in staying informed, engaged and intent on protecting the principles we hold dear. Yours sincerely, Hunter R. Rawlings III Interim President

6 AAA Calls for Immediate Reversal of Executive Order Banning Immigrants Source: The American Anthropological Association (AAA) calls on the US government to immediately reverse its ill-informed, heavy-handed executive order suspending entry of all refugees to the United States for 120 days, barring Syrian refugees indefinitely, and blocking entry into the United States for 90 days for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The Department of Homeland Security immediately began enforcing the order, including barring green card holders from those countries from re-entering the United States, with exceptions to be evaluated on a bureaucratically slow and inefficient case-by-case basis. The order must be rescinded, immediately, and the hateful cultural ignorance behind it must be named, said AAA President Alisse Waterston. Anthropology is dedicated to making the world safe for cultural differences. Our scholarship helps advance understanding by taking the long and comparative view of human behavior. From our perspective, this executive order serves no useful purpose and dramatically reverses decades of precedent without any apparent careful consideration for the violation of human rights of refugees and immigrants and of the prospect for potentially dangerous consequences. This executive order places scholars, students and practitioners in anthropology and other disciplines in serious jeopardy. We will continue to muster anthropological knowledge and expertise in the service of upholding human rights, protecting academic freedom and helping solve not exacerbate human problems, Waterston added. To our friends and colleagues around the world, we feel compelled to emphasize this new administration s actions do not reflect the views of a majority or even a plurality of the American people. This government cannot hide behind the spectacle and highly charged xenophobic rhetoric of nationalism any longer. Its policies and practices must be based on knowledge gained from systematic observation. To do otherwise places human rights and the rule of law in peril. We are watching closely, and hold this new administration accountable for remaining within the guide rails of truth and justice.

7 AAAL EC Statement on Travel Executive Order Source: Dear Colleagues, Like many of you, we have observed the unfolding events with regard to President Donald Trump s recent Executive Order regarding entry to the United States with trepidation and concern. The order raises immediate and legitimate fears and concerns in relation to issues of immigration, refugees, human rights, and religious discrimination. The goal of AAAL is to facilitate the advancement and dissemination of knowledge and understanding regarding language-related issues in order to understand their roles in the lives of individuals and conditions in society, this with a view to enhancing the welfare of individuals and the quality of social life. As such, we stand by all members of the applied linguistics community, without regard to national origin, religion, or race. The Executive Order is fundamentally antithetical to the values and goals of the organization. As an organization, we are concerned about the chilling and discriminatory effect of the President s move not only on our students and colleagues in the United States, but on members of the applied linguistics community worldwide, all of whom are welcome in the AAAL community. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment in order to best support the advancement of our goal. At the upcoming meeting in Portland, there will be two public fora for those attending the conference to express their views on these developments. A lunchtime open meeting on Saturday will address the issue of our professional responsibilities as applied linguists in the current troubling political context. On Sunday, an open meeting of the new Public Affairs and Engagement Committee will provide a further context for the drafting of a public statement. We encourage all those attending to contribute to these discussions; they have been scheduled so that they do not compete with any academic session. As far as we can tell, no one so far registered for the conference will be prevented from attending by the Executive Order of the President. But our information may be incomplete. If you have questions or concerns at this point about travel to the conference or any other related issues, please do not hesitate to be in touch with us at info@aaal.org. With deep concern, and in a spirit of open exchange, academic collegiality and inclusiveness, The AAAL Executive Committee

8 See also: (1): Multisociety_JointStatement_TravelBan.pdf (2): TESOL&EnglishUSA&UCIEP_JointStatement_TravelBan.pdf (3): Inside Higher Ed article, Boycotting the US