UC responds to Trump’s executive order on immigration, refugees
Protesters at Los Angeles International Airport rallied against President Donald Trump’s executive order banning refugees and citizens of seven Muslim majority countries from entering the United States. (Jeong Park/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Ryan Leou
Jan. 28, 2017 11:57 p.m.
This post was updated on Jan. 29 at 2:46 p.m.
University of California President Janet Napolitano and the chancellors of each campus expressed concern about an executive order from President Donald Trump barring refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries.
“While maintaining the security of the nation’s visa system is critical, this executive order is contrary to the values we hold dear as leaders of the University of California,” they said in a statement released Sunday afternoon. “It is critical that the United States continues to welcome the best students, scholars, scientists, and engineers of all backgrounds and nationalities.”
They also said they would support members of the UC community affected by the order.
The UC also released a travel advisory statement Saturday after Trump issued his executive order indefinitely banning all Syrian refugees from entering the country, all other refugees for 120 days and citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen for 90 days.
UC students and community members from the countries targeted by Trump’s executive order should not leave the country, the University advised.
The University also advised visa holders or green card holders from the affected countries who are abroad to contact the international studies office at each campus.
“We will continue to monitor and analyze the impact of the executive order and will issue additional guidance as soon as possible,” the UC statement said.
Trump said he issued the order as part of his “extreme vetting” plan to keep out “radical Islamic terrorists” from the country. He also said he wanted to prioritize Christian and other minority refugees over Muslim refugees.
The Department of Homeland Security had said the executive order would prevent U.S. permanent residents, or green card holders from re-entering the country. People from the seven countries who hold dual citizenship with a country other than the United States are also restricted from entering the country.
Judge Ann Donnelly of the U.S. Federal District Court of Eastern New York issued a stay on Trump’s order, preventing the deportation of travelers with valid visas and refugee status who had already arrived in the country.
Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. Federal District Court of Virginia also issued a temporary order blocking the deportation of green card holders at Washington Dulles International Airport.
It is unclear whether either ruling will ultimately block the Trump administration from preventing people banned by Trump’s executive order from entering the U.S.
Seven people from the targeted countries were detained at the Los Angeles International Airport Saturday morning, and dozens of others were detained in airports across the country.
Four of those being detained are Iranian, and all hold green cards or U.S. visas, according to the Los Angeles Times. A woman of Iranian descent from Austria with a student visa was deported to Copenhagen.
Activists, protesters and lawyers flocked to Los Angeles International Airport, San Francisco International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport to protest the detentions and work for their release.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the executive order, arguing it violated the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the Constitution.
Protesters, including UCLA students, plan to rally at the international terminal at LAX against Trump’s executive order Sunday.
