February 01, 2017

An organization of 110,000 inductees and 500-plus chapters worldwide, Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society urges U.S. President Donald J. Trump to consider more fully the implications and ramifications of the executive order “protecting the nation from the foreign terrorist entry into the United States.” 

The new restrictions, albeit temporary, pertaining to citizens from seven countries, and refugees, which delay them from entering the country, is harming the United States and global scientific cooperation. Unfettered communication between researchers worldwide is the underpinning of technological advancement and fuels the engine for innovation that drives international commerce. The president’s action hampers the natural intercourse that ensures economic growth and our national security, harms our standing as the bright light of freedom to the world, and hurts individuals and families, many of whom stand for and have stood in harm’s way to defend all we hold dear. It is our fervent desire that the president rescinds the order and restores our role as a trusted leader and partner to the rest of the world.