Chancellor Nicholas Dirks announced in a campuswide statement Sunday that campus leadership is working with the UC Office of the President to analyze the potential impacts that President Donald Trump’s recent executive order on immigration could have on students, faculty and staff.
Trump’s order, issued Friday, indefinitely suspends Syrian immigrants’ entry into the United States and halts entry of individuals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen for 90 days. Dirks has appointed Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion Na’ilah Nasir and Chief Campus Counsel Christopher Patti to direct campus efforts to address the impacts of the executive order.
“Beyond the EO’s effect on the Berkeley community, there is a far larger story at play: our country itself is at an historic crossroads, in debate not simply over a particular immigration policy, but over the very ideals that define our nation,” Dirks wrote in the statement.
He added in his statement that campus administration are working to “determine all options available to protect the well being of every member of our community.” In the message, he reaffirmed UCOP’s recommendations that students from the seven impacted countries should not travel outside of the United States. He also directed students to a campus webpage on mental health resources and to the Berkeley International Office website, which has uploaded answers to frequently asked questions about the policy change.
Additionally, Dirks noted his agreement with a statement released by Association of American Universities President Mary Sue Coleman, which calls for an end to the new immigration regulations.
“We recognize the importance of a strong visa process to our nation’s security,” Coleman wrote in the statement. “However, the administration’s new order barring the entry or return of individuals from certain countries is already causing damage and should end as quickly as possible. The order is stranding students who have been approved to study here and are trying to get back to campus, and threatens to disrupt the education and research of many others.”
