President Donald J. Trump
The White House
United States of America

Dear President Trump:

February 10, 2017

The January 27, 2017, White House Executive Order on visas and immigration has profound implications for diplomatic, humanitarian, and national security interests, in part because of the negative impact on U.S. science and engineering capacity.

The 182 undersigned organizations – representing a broad spectrum of professional scientific, engineering and education societies, national associations, and universities – are deeply concerned that this Executive Order will have a negative impact on the ability of scientists and engineers in industry and academia to enter, or leave from and return to, the United States. This will reduce U.S. science and engineering output to the detriment of America and Americans.

Scientific progress depends on openness, transparency, and the free flow of ideas and people, and these principles have helped the United States attract and richly benefit from international scientific talent. From the Apollo Program and exploring the far reaches of the universe, to advancing biomedical research for curing diseases and harnessing science to build a thriving high-tech sector, the United States is considered a leader in science, education and innovation. In order to remain the world leader in advancing scientific knowledge and innovations, the U.S. science and technology enterprise must continue to capitalize on the international and multicultural environment within which it operates.

The Executive Order will discourage many of the best and brightest international students, scholars, engineers and scientists from studying and working, attending academic and scientific conferences, or seeking to build new businesses in the United States. Implementation of this policy will compromise the United States’ ability to attract international scientific talent and maintain scientific and economic leadership.

Today, we urge the Administration to rescind the Executive Order and we stand ready to assist you in crafting an immigration and visa policy that advances U.S. prosperity and ensures strong borders while staying true to foundational American principles as a nation of immigrants.

Sincerely,

American Association for the Advancement of Science AACC International
Academy for Eating Disorders
Academy for Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Research
Acoustical Society of America
Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
American Academy of Forensic Sciences
American Anthropological Association
American Association for Clinical Chemistry
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
American Association for Dental Research
American Association of Geographers
American Association of Immunologists
American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists American Association of Physical Anthropologists American Association of Physicists in Medicine
American Association of Physics Teachers
American Association for Public Opinion Research American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases American Astronomical Society
American Brain Coalition
American Chemical Society
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
American Dental Education Association
American Educational Research Association
American Federation for Medical Research
American Geophysical Union
American Geosciences Institute
American Institute of Biological Sciences
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics American Institute of Chemical Engineers
American Institute of Physics
American Mathematical Society
American Meteorological Society
American Ornithological Society
American Physical Society
American Physiological Society
American Phytopathological Society
American Political Science Association
American Psychological Association
American Public Health Association
American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers American Society of Agronomy
American Society of Animal Science
American Society of Association Executives
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology American Society for Cell Biology
American Society of Civil Engineers
American Society for Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology
American Society for Horticultural Science
American Society for Microbiology
American Society of Naturalists
American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics American Society of Plant Biologists
American Society of Plant Taxonomists
American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene American Sociological Association
American Statistical Association
Archeological Institute of America
Associated Universities, Inc.
Association for Behavior Analysis International
Association of Research Libraries
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of American Universities
Association of Independent Research Institutes
Association for Psychological Science
Association for Research in Otolaryngology
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography Association of Southeastern Biologists
Association for Women in Mathematics
Behavior Genetics Association
Biomedical Engineering Society
Biophysical Society
Boston University
Botanical Society of America
Brown University
California Institute of Technology
Cognitive Science Society
Columbia University in the City of New York
Computing Research Association
Consortium for Ocean Leadership
Consortium of Social Science Associations
Controlled Release Society
Council of Graduate Schools
Council on Social Work Education
Crop Science Society of America
Duke University
Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
Eating Disorders Research Society
Ecological Society of America
Entomological Society of America
Executive Committee of the American Society of Criminology Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Forensic Specialties Accreditation Board
Foundation for Science and Disability
Geological Society of America
Genetics Society of America
Harvard University
Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
Institute for Advanced Study
Institute of Food Technologists
International Association for Dental Research
International Society for Computational Biology
International Society for Stem Cell Research
Johns Hopkins University
Law and Society Association
Linguistic Society of America
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Materials Research Society
Mathematical Association of America
Michigan State University
Microscopy Society of America
Midwest Political Science Association
National Association of Biology Teachers
National Communication Association
National Organization of Gay & Lesbian Scientists & Technical Professionals (NOGLSTP) National Postdoctoral Association
Natural Science Collections Alliance
National Science Teachers Association
New York University
North American Vascular Biology Organization
Northeastern University
Oklahoma Academy of Science
Organization for the Study of Sex Differences
Ornithological Council
Paleontological Society
Population Association of America
Princeton University
Research!America
Rice University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Seismological Society of America
Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine
Society for American Archaeology
Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology
Society for Computers in Psychology
Society for Conservation Biology North America
Society for Developmental Biology
Society for Ecological Restoration
Society for Economic Botany
Society of Experimental Social Psychology
Society of General Internal Medicine
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Society for Mathematical Psychology
Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology Society for the Neural Control of Movement
Society for Neuroscience
Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Society for Personality and Social Psychology Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Society for Research in Child Development
Society for Social Studies of Science
Society for Social Work and Research
Society for the Study of Evolution
Society for the Study of Reproduction
Society of Systematic Biologists
Society for Text and Discourse
Society of Toxicology
Soil Science Society of America
Stanford University
Stony Brook University
The American Phytopathological Society
The Gerontological Society of America
The Endocrine Society
The Michael J. Fox Foundation
The Optical Society
The Psychonomic Society
United States Pharmacopeial Convention
University of California System
University of Cincinnati
University of Iowa
University of Michigan
University of Pennsylvania
Vanderbilt University
Vision Sciences Society
Washington University in St. Louis
Yale University

cc: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer, House Speaker Paul Ryan, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi