Supreme Court Decision on the Travel Ban
June 29, 2018
Dear Members of the Brandeis Community,
We know we speak for many of you in expressing our deep disappointment in the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to uphold the Trump administration’s travel ban, which potentially affects a number of our students, faculty, and staff.
You may recall that Brandeis was a signatory to the amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief filed by the Association of American Universities (AAU) in opposition to this ban. We are disappointed the majority on the court did not see the merit in our arguments, and we reiterate our support for all our students, faculty, and staff, particularly those from countries affected by this ban.
We agree with the words of Mary Sue Coleman, president of the AAU and the recipient of an honorary degree at our Commencement exercises this year: “Our global leadership role would not be possible without the extraordinary flow of international talent, drawn here by academic opportunity and American values. It is critical to American economic competitiveness that the U.S. remain open to the world’s best students, scientists, and scholars. As Justices [Sonia] Sotomayor and [Stephen] Breyer note in their dissents, which cite the amicus brief filed by the AAU and other higher-education associations, the travel ban has — and will continue to have — ‘deleterious effects on our higher-education system.’ ”
Working together, we will continue to make Brandeis a welcoming community for all. If you are in need of assistance, we have listed, below, several university resources that we encourage you to access.
Sincerely,
Ron Liebowitz, President
Lisa M. Lynch, Provost
Brandeis continues to offer supportive resources to members of its community affected by the travel ban: