Travel Ban Case to be Heard, Threats to Academic Freedom Remain High

This morning, the Supreme Court announced that it will hear a legal challenge to Trump’s exclusionary travel ban. The case will be heard in the upcoming term that starts in October.

In the meantime, the ban on visitors from six Muslim-majority countries has been allowed to go into effect, with exemptions for foreign nationals "who have a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States."

We believe that the exclusion is at odds with fundamental AAUP principles and our nation’s historic commitment to the free exchange of ideas.

The AAUP is planning to join the continuing legal fight around the ban. We have a long history of legal action in this arena and have joined with organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Academy of Religion, and the PEN American Center in suits contesting past bans on scholars. We also hope to write or join in an amicus brief against the ban.

We have also partnered with the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University to collect information from any faculty members who have had their cell phones or other electronic devices searched by US border patrol officers at the nation’s borders while traveling internationally.