Dean of Faculty advises against international travel

Dean of the Faculty Deborah Prentice sent an email to University faculty members Saturday morning advising against travel outside the United States in the coming days.

The email comes in the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive order that may affect visa holders or permanent residents from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The order prohibits all individuals from these named countries from entering the United States for 90 days and suspends the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days.

“I am establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America,” Trump said at the signing of the order.

In the email, Prentice recommended that individuals who might be affected take precautions as the complete implications of the executive order were not immediately clear.

“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,” she wrote.

She noted that the University has shared with potentially affected students and scholars relevant information from the immigration law firm Fragomen Worldwide, which has advised the University community in the past.

The email also noted that the University would support its community, and it mentioned concerns about the impact of the executive order on University objectives.

“We do, however, want to be prepared to support and advise our students, scholars, and others who might be affected by any changes, and to express our deep concern about any potential impact on the ability of this and other American universities to engage in teaching and research of the highest quality," it read.

Prentice deferred comment to University director of media relations John Cramer, who declined to comment further.

More to come...