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Area colleges say hundreds of students, professors directly affected by travel ban

In a friend-of-the-court brief filed in the first Logan immigration case, eight universities in the Boston area and Worcester say they have 535 students and 217 professors and researchers from the seven countries affected by the government's ban on travel from predominantly Muslim countries.

But the schools - Harvard, MIT, Brandeis, Northeastern, Tufts, BU, BC and WPI - write they are already seeing a dropoff in the numbers of students and professors from other countries who now fear having anything to do with an American university because of the risk they could be trapped either there or here by future bans:

To give one example, [one university] had recently extended a postdoctoral offer to a prospective student from Ukraine, but the student has indicated that she is unlikely to accept due to the unpredictable environment. Although there are reportedly no current plans in place to expand the EO’s current list of seven countries, high-ranking Executive Branch officials have suggested that an expansion may well occur in the future.28 Given those statements and the abruptness with which the existing EO was issued, foreign scholars and students may not be willing to risk be being stranded here or abroad with hopes of simply gaining an education or educating young minds in the United States.

The eight schools wrote their brief to try to convince a federal judge in Boston to permanently enjoin the federal government from enforcing its ban - saying it would harm not just the schools and student themselves, but the American economy and our interests abroad:

As a matter of pure economics, few investments produce a greater return for our nation than investments in higher education, innovation, and research. The United States economy has been fueled by foreign-born innovators who came to this country and chose to stay for extended periods of time. According to one study by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), "[i]mmigrants have started more than half (44 of 87) of America's startup companies valued at $1 billion or more and are key members of management or product development teams in over 70 percent (62 of 87) of these companies." Indeed, one can only imagine how different the American economy would be if Abdul Fattah Jandali—Steve Jobs's biological father—were not permitted to enter the United States from his original home in Homs, Syria, to study at the University of Wisconsin. The creation of new wealth generates obvious financial benefits for the United States, as well as considerable job growth. Each of the $1 billion startups in the NFAP study has "created an average of approximately 760 jobs . . . in the United States."

Finally, the education of foreign-born students and collaboration between American students and foreign-born scholars at institutions like amici's present the United States with an opportunity to promote the ideals that, together, compose the social, political, and cultural fabric of this country. International students and scholars who come to the United States to engage on our academic campuses are exposed to our democratic principles, as well as to our norms of tolerance and respect. They witness American society's steadfast commitment to human rights, our emphasis on education, and our dedication to the rule of law.

These values, in turn, are transmitted around the world when these individuals depart this country. Harvard counts twenty or more alumni who have served as heads of state of foreign countries—many in developing countries—including Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (who studied economics and public policy) and former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto (who studied comparative government).15 Former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan earned a Master's degree in management from MIT. These world leaders, along with countless other individuals from the amici institutions, have come to the United States, engaged in the vigorous exchange of ideas for which this country is known, and then returned to their countries steeped in American culture and American principles.

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Comments

He has a piss poor understanding of the value of intellectual capital.

Impeach the Cheeto prick already.

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Amazingly, even Trump isn't stupid enough to think throwing "greats" out is a bad idea. Unfortunately President Steve Bannon disagrees:

“When someone is going to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Stanford, all the greats” and then they graduate, “we throw them out of the country, and they can’t get back in,” Trump said.

“I think that’s terrible,” added Trump, who was a regular guest on the show. “We have to be careful of that, Steve. You know, we have to keep our talented people in this country.”

Trump asked Bannon if he agreed with him, but the Breitbart executive chairman seemed to have trouble responding to this suggestion.

“When two-thirds or three-quarters of the CEOs in Silicon Valley are from South Asia or from Asia, I think...” Bannon said. “A country is more than an economy. We’re a civic society.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/steve-bannon-disgusted-asian-ceos-si...

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Bannon is supposedly the WH staffer who confirmed that Green Card holders were (originally) banned by the EO. The desire to purge runs deep with him.

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For? You cant impeach someone because the MINORITY of Americans disprove of his temporary travel ban.

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At issue in an impeachment would be whether he violated the Constitution, not how bigly he's doing in the polls.

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Put 25 cents in the jar.

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What like the Naturalization Clause? People not born here are not guaranteed citizenship! So please point to the section in the constitution where its addresses the unlawfulness of restricting foreigners from entry.

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You know, the Establishment Clause.

Also try the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act.

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Over 100,000 visas have been revoked since the travel ban. That was the inevitable conclusion for the uproar. After all, if there's no valid visa there's no one to defend or reject, just foreigners who will go somewhere else to contribute their economic, intellectual and financial power. The America First isolationists had to wait 75 years but they've gotten what they wanted, fewer people coming to the US because the smart people won't be at the US universities any more. They'll be in parts of the world where the best international scholars can all freely collaborate without having to worry about our CBP.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/03/politics/over-100000-visas-revoked-governm...

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Canada.

Expect a lot of offices of high tech companies set up in Windsor and Vancouver.

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http://globalnews.ca/news/3216914/trump-travel-ban-prompts-high-skilled-...

https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/31/in-silicon-valley-plotting-to-get-fore...

Many companies already have a Canadian presence - I know of at least one that is expanding that office with travel-banned personnel and may move a few native born citizens up, too.

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How sad and how tragic that so many lives are being affected for the worse so this loud-mouthed clueless jerk off can get the attention he never got from his father. It's unfortunate he didn't get therapy while it still could have done some good. Not that he would have believed he needed it. And shame on the naive people who took him seriously and actually voted for him.

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I feel sorry for you if you're in bed with a cold, or even if you come to work and are taking medicine to treat your cold.

My sympathy ends when you sneeze on the salad bar.

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Well said, Daniel.

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I'm not sure which worries me most. Trump didn't know the consequences of this ban or he did.

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