© 2024 WSIU Public Broadcasting
WSIU Public Broadcasting
Member-Supported Public Media from Southern Illinois University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

SIUC and U of I Respond To President Trump's Executive Order Halting Immigration

People
Reuters
People gather to protest against the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order at O’Hare airport in Chicago, Illinois, on Jan. 28, 2017. ";s:

The head of the SIU-Carbondale campus is voicing his support for international students in light of President Trump's executive order.

In a written statement, interim Chancellor Brad Colwell says SIU-C enrolls 88 students from the seven countries listed in the president's executive order halting immigration and travel.
He says the university is not aware of any of these students currently traveling outside of the United States or of any student studying abroad in any of the seven countries.

Colwell says international students are concerned about future changes in federal policies that could negatively impact them. He wants to assure the more than 12-hundred international students on campus that they are welcome and supported.

Colwell says the first international student to receive a bachelor's degree from SIU arrived in 1947 from Iraq.

University of Illinois Executive Vice-President Barb Wilson says the U of I needs what she calls "open doors" to fulfill its mission.
 
"We need international students, and faculty, and visiting scholars to come here, and we need to be able to send our students to other countries to learn and to engage in scholarship."
 
Wilson says this Executive Order puts that ability into question.  She says the U of I is still compiling data ... but that "well over 300" students ... faculty and visiting scholars could be affected by the order.

She says the university is advising those from the seven countries on the list to defer any international travel until pending legal challenges are resolved.
 

As a news producer and news anchor on All Things Considered, Brad provides the listeners with a recap of the day's top local and state news as well as breaking news at any given time. Contact WSIU Radio at 618-453-6101 or email wsiunews@wsiu.org
As a WSIU donor, you don’t simply watch or listen to public media programs, you are a partner. By making a gift, you help WSIU produce, purchase, and broadcast programs you care about and enjoy – every day of the year.