Arizona Law to Host Forum on Legal Issues Raised by Executive Order on Immigration

The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law will host a community forum Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 5:30 p.m. in Room 164 (Ares Auditorium) to discuss the legal and policy issues raised by the Executive Orders related to immigration and refugees. All are invited to attend.

The forum will be streamed live online at law.arizona.edu/livestream, and a recording will be posted to the Arizona Law YouTube channel.

Visit the event page on Facebook for more details.

Resources for Arizona Law Students

The College of Law has resources available to all law students during this time, including everyone in the Global Programs team: Associate Dean Kathie Barnes, Cristina Castaneda and Emma Buck; as well as Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Willie Jordan-Curtis, and the UA Office of Global Initiatives. Please stop by any time or contact them via email or phone.

Any student concerned about their own travel plans or their own immigrant family members may schedule a confidential consultation with the Immigration Law Clinic by calling clinic director Nina Rabin or administrative associate Gloria Klinicki at 520-626-5232.

Message from Arizona Law Dean Marc Miller (Released Jan. 31, 2017):

Copied below is President Hart’s message to the UA community regarding President Trump’s recent Executive Order on immigration and refugees.

In the wake of the confusion over what the Executive Order means, and how it will be enforced, I want to emphasize the value we place on the diversity and perspective of each member of our community, including all of our international students. We believe that different backgrounds and experiences enrich the learning environment, and we realize that having faculty, staff, and students from all over the world is essential to a great College of Law, and to a great research university.

As President Hart notes, various groups are working to persuade policymakers to address our very real concerns over the terms and scope of the Executive Order.

I understand, as do our faculty and staff, that our many international students and our many community members from immigrant families may feel great stress and anxiety in these times. I feel this personally as the grandson of immigrants who left the Pale of Settlement to escape persecution of Jews.

The College will hold a community forum at the law school next Wednesday, February 8 at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the legal and policy issues raised by the Executive Orders. I encourage you to attend.

In the meantime, if you have questions or concerns, there are campus resources available to you, including the UA Office of Global Initiatives and our own Bacon Immigration Law and Policy Program. 

Message to UA Community from President Ann Weaver Hart (Released Jan. 29, 2017):

To UA students and employees,

The University of Arizona community has serious concerns about provisions of the January 27, 2017 Executive Order suspending nonimmigrant and immigrant visas from specific countries and suspending the United States’ refugee program. The Order also leaves the status of green card holders working in this country legally ambiguous while suspending admission to the United States of foreign nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen for at least 90 days.

We have received reports of students from other universities, as well as highly prized scholars, who were airborne en route to the U.S. at the time the Order was signed being detained upon arrival.  We have also heard from University of Arizona students who are afraid to travel abroad, despite the legality of their visas, and we are deeply concerned for the wellbeing and treatment of our foreign students, scholars, researchers, and professors.  This approach violates the principles on which international university communities of thought, learning, and research are based and will jeopardize the very mission and purpose of the university.

We oppose the Executive Order and believe that lawsuits challenging it will be successful.  At least one temporary restraining order related to provisions of the Order has already been issued. 

The Association of American Universities (AAU), the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), and the American Council of Education (ACE) are all working to persuade policymakers to address our concerns, and we all understand the importance of America’s historic leading role in education, research, and learning, including students and scholars from around the world.  The present challenge is no exception to this important role.

We recommend that international students and scholars at the University of Arizona postpone any planned international travel until this matter is resolved.  The UA Office of Global Initiatives has been responding to inquiries throughout the weekend and is working to identify those in our community who are on personal travel and may be affected by the order and need our assistance.