Statement of AAU President Barbara R. Snyder on the Announcement of New Travel Bans

The following is a statement by Association of American Universities President Barbara R. Snyder on two new presidential proclamations fully or partially restricting the nationals of 19 countries from entering the United States and restricting any foreign national from entering the United States to attend Harvard University.

U.S. universities attract gifted students from across the globe because of our institutions’ world-renowned academic excellence and groundbreaking scientific research. While AAU and our American research university members work to assess the full scope and impact of the announced travel bans from certain nations as well as on students specifically seeking to attend Harvard University, we hold firm that it is in our national interest to welcome talented people from all over the world to study in our universities and to invite them to participate in our strong democratic society.

International students bring extraordinary value to our campuses and to our communities – in the classroom, they bring new perspectives and challenge assumptions; beyond the classroom, they fuel innovation and research and improve our nation through entrepreneurship, with many starting and leading companies that create new U.S. jobs and that boost our economy.

The administration’s latest actions will harm our students, our faculty members, and all Americans who benefit from the tremendous value that international talent brings to the United States. Our country will not be the same if we put up unreasonable barriers to international students and scholars. We will lose more than just students, teachers, doctors, nurses, engineers, scientists and the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators – we will lose our position as the leader in the race for global talent which for so long has played a central role in securing America’s global scientific, economic, and military leadership.

The administration’s latest travel ban preventing students from attending Harvard University is yet another element of its campaign to damage one of the world’s top universities, a university that has produced remarkable leaders and research that has benefited the people of our nation. I commend the university’s commitment to continue protecting its international students.

Make no mistake – travel bans have real consequences. Prospective students will be forced to abandon their educational dreams, faculty members will no longer be able to effectively collaborate internationally, and families will be kept apart. These bans send a message to all foreign nationals, even those not immediately affected by them: You are not welcome here. Meanwhile, our peer nations as well as economic competitors and even adversaries are eagerly working to take full advantage of our self-inflicted error by recruiting the talent we are pushing away.

We agree with President Trump that it is essential that the federal government protect our country from those who would harm it, or those who would harm students on our campuses. We also agree with President Trump that the United States should lead the world in science and technology. We cannot do that if we keep undermining our nation’s status as the top destination for the world’s very best innovators, or if we destroy the universities which for years have served as engines for U.S. scientific innovation and economic growth. We are deeply concerned that these new travel bans – just like the ones that came before – pose a threat to America’s global leadership in science, technology, and all disciplines key to fostering a strong and thriving nation.