Executive Order Banning Refugees

Dear UNI Students, Faculty and Staff,

As you know, last Friday evening President Trump signed an executive order that bans refugees from entering the country over the next 120 days, as well as bans citizens of any of seven countries (Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen) from entering the United States for at least 90 days. Several federal courts have issued temporary orders providing limited relief to portions of this executive order.

We have been monitoring closely the implementation of this executive order to understand its potential impact upon our community, particularly our international students. Our Office of International Programs has been meeting regularly with our international students to provide them with the information they need to remain safe and feel welcomed at UNI. The office will continue to monitor the situation and provide support to our international students.

We strongly discourage UNI faculty, staff and students who are a citizen of one of the seven affected countries from traveling outside the United States for the next 90 days as they may not be able to return to the country. We encourage you to seek legal advice from an experienced immigration attorney in deciding whether to travel abroad. Additionally, while the executive order's travel ban is limited to seven countries at this time, it could be expanded to other countries. Any faculty member who has questions about international travel should reach out to Nancy Cobb, Associate Provost for Faculty. Staff should contact Toni Babcock, Employee and Labor Relations Coordinator.

We stand firmly behind UNI's Vision statement, which asserts that we will be "a diverse and inclusive campus community." Consistent with our Values statement, we are "A caring and safe community, characterized by civility and respect, which stands in solidarity against any actions that exclude, discriminate against or silence members of our community."

If you have questions, please let us know.

Sincerely,