"We welcome the Trump administration’s effort to clarify the
executive order first issued on Jan. 27, 2017, and believe that it will
address some of the issues that bedeviled the earlier version. We have
long maintained that it is essential to safeguard the nation while still
ensuring that the United States remains the destination of choice for
the world’s best students, faculty and scholars, regardless of their
nationality. This order is a step in the right direction.
Yet while the revised order has narrowed the number of people
impacted by the travel ban, we fear that those still excluded—coupled
with the faulty initial roll-out and the harsh rhetoric that often
accompanies today’s public policy discussions about immigration—still
creates a climate where it is far more difficult for international
students and scholars to view this country as a welcoming place for
study and research.
When these individuals come to the United States, they bring their
creativity and intellectual talents to our country and leave with a
direct experience of a democratic society and a free market. It is in
America’s interest that the necessity of protecting the border from
those who wish us harm does not undermine our ability to attract the
most talented students and scholars to our shores."