At least 110 UNM students with visas who are currently citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen will be directly affected by the recent executive order signed by the Trump administration that temporarily bans all travel from these seven nations.
Linda Melville, director for International Student and Scholar Services with the UNM Global Education Office, said these are foreign students currently studying at UNM.
Both students who were directly affected and those who stand to experience visa delays were contacted directly on Sunday through email, while a message was also posted on the GEO spotlight main webpage, Melville said.
The GEO office is planning an information session specifically for students from the seven affected countries on Friday with details being sent directly to students through email, she said.
UNM administrators are also including information in their campus-wide communiques and will hold information sessions for other interested groups, such as faculty and staff, which will be announced at a later date.
“This rule dramatically impacts the lives of the students from the seven named countries. For the time being, they are unable to travel, receive visits from or be united with relatives abroad who were planning to join them in the U.S., or have any pending applications or petitions processed by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,” Melville said.
The current ruling has also been unnerving to most other international students who wonder if their countries will be added to the list and if it is at all safe for them to plan travel abroad, Melville said.
“Many students have reported experiencing anxiety, stress and depression as a result of these orders and are wondering if all of their hard work, money and achievements will be for naught,” she said.
GEO has been working with SHAC to address the needs of students who are suffering extreme anxiety and depression due to this situation, she said. The office is also aware of some individuals who are currently stuck abroad after what was supposed to be temporary travel, but are working with departments to find solutions to their academic issues.
“We have no ability to do anything more to get them here than wait and see what will happen with this order. We are keeping an eye on the situation and reporting any updates as soon as we are able,” Melville said.
International students are required to have valid visas to enter the U.S. but are not required to have a valid visa to remain, she said. “We have advised students who do not currently have a valid visa in their passport to refrain from optional travel abroad during the semester, if they are not prepared to wait abroad for what may be longer than the usual processing time,” she said.
In the years following 9/11, in-person interviews were required for everyone as is now being implemented, and typical wait times for visa processing were much longer, she said.
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“There may be new procedures implemented by the Trump administration and we have no idea what those will look like or how much time they will take,” Melville said.
GEO will work with and inform students as these issues become clear, she said.
“It is important that the UNM community support these students in these uncertain times. If you know an international student it is really powerful for everyone to voice their support directly to those students,” Melville said. “Many international students are feeling alienated, unwelcome and afraid. If everyone who wants to show support would go up to the international students that they know and tell them that they are happy they’re here and they want them to feel welcome, that will go a long way toward reversing the negative emotional impact these rules have had on our international student community.”
GEO is currently pointing a group of students to campus resources who have expressed the desire to organize a campus rally to show opposition to this executive order, Melville said.
“The last information we received is that the rally is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 9. When the details are announced, students, staff and faculty can come out and show their support for our diverse community of students and to let the international community know that we want them here at UNM,” she said.
In his weekly message, acting UNM President Chaouki Abdallah commented on the recent executive order.
“We do recognize the importance of actions that ensure the visa system prevents entry to anyone who wishes to harm citizens and residents of the United States,” Abdallah wrote.
At the same time, UNM continues to work within the law to support and protect all of our students, faculty and staff who might be adversely affected, he wrote.
“I remind you that our First Amendment right is one of the protections afforded to us by the U.S. Constitution. It allows us to speak truth to power on behalf of those who cannot,” Abdallah wrote.
ASUNM President Kyle Biederwolf said ASUNM supports efforts by University leaders to protect the rights of our students and give them the resources they need, and are committed to the success of every student on this campus and celebrate the rich diversity of our student body.
“I appreciate the proactive communications by President Abdullah, Provost White and other University leaders to address the concerns of our students. I encourage all students to seek out campus and community resources if they feel as though their rights are in jeopardy,” he said.
Nichole Harwood is a news reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Nolidoli1.
