Members of the Penn State Community:
President Trump signed an executive order on Friday that, among other impacts, suspended entry of all refugees to the United States for 120 days, and blocked entry to the U.S. for at least 90 days for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The order also suspends the issuance of visas and other immigration benefits to nationals of these countries, the number of which could grow.
Reports suggest that enforcement of the executive order is already stranding students and affecting U.S. institutions of higher education. We are monitoring developments closely to ensure that we fully understand how this executive order and any future orders may affect Penn State, including the implications for our many students, researchers and faculty who are citizens of other countries.
Fortunately, to the best of our knowledge, none of our students or scholars who are from the named countries are currently traveling abroad. But the problems that are surfacing with the order are clear, and we join the Association of American Universities and universities all across the country in asking that the order be ended as soon as possible. You can access the AAU statement here: http://www.aau.edu/news/article.aspx?id=18366