Penn steps up efforts to oppose Trump immigration ban

The University of Pennsylvania stepped up action Monday on opposing President Trump's executive order on immigration, joining a group of Ivy League and other research universities in filing an amicus brief in a case pending in New York.

Penn said the brief was filed in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York. It comes in response to Trump's attempt to halt immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries.

"We believe the amicus brief will be of value to the court," said Stephen J. MacCarthy, Penn's vice president for university communications.

The brief notes that the universities "seek to educate future leaders from nearly every continent, attract the world's best scholars, faculty and students and work across international borders" and "rely on the ability to welcome international students, faculty and scholars in their communities."

In the brief, Penn states that its "roots are in Philadelphia, the birthplace of American democracy. But Penn's reach spans the globe. . . . Penn research and teaching encourage lifelong learning relevant to a changing global society."

The brief also was signed by Princeton University, Brown University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Chicago, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Emory University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, Stanford University, Vanderbilt University and Yale University.

See the amicus brief here:

https://news.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/Darweesh-university-amicus-brief-21317-FINAL-2.pdf