US Immigration Ban to have a huge impact on collaboration and research, according to Australian Universities

US Immigration Ban to have a huge impact on collaboration and research according to Australian Universities https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-31/unis-affected-by-us-immigration-ban/8225652

US Immigration Ban to have a huge impact on collaboration and research according to Australian Universities Universities in Australia say that the immigration ban implemented by Donald Trump, the new president of the United States, could possibly have a major impact on collaboration and research.

The US president signed an executive order last week restricting immigration from 7 countries for 90 days. These countries are predominantly populated by Muslims.

Mr Malcolm Turnbull, the Prime Minister of Australia, stated this morning that he has received assurances that Australians who are also dual citizens are going to be excluded from the ban.

Mr Brian Schmidt, a Nobel laureate and also the Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University, stated that there is no doubt this would affect academics.

”It is such a globalised world, and when things like this happen within the United States, it affects everyone,” said Professor Schmidt. ”We have many people from these countries, so it just makes the ability to do business as usual within research and academia very difficult.”

Ms Belinda Robinson, the chief executive of Universities Australia, expressed her concern for the academics who are citizens from the countries that are affected. These countries are Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, and Libya.

”In any conversations that we have with the Government around this, we will obviously be drawing to their attention the concerns that we have about the potential impact,” stated Ms Robinson. ”It is a little difficult now, with the executive orders only having just been signed, to know what that impact is going to be.”

The ban directly affects Australians

In spite of the assurances given by the Prime Minister, there are a few Australians who say that the ban has already brought about damage to their travel plans, and they would like to be clarified regarding the rules on who can travel to the United States.

Dual Australian and Sudanese citizen Yassmin Abdel-Magied, an author, engineer, and a TV presenter, said that the ban has already had a jarring impact on her life.

”I was supposed to be doing a keynote address at a conference in Wisconsin in March, and I was supposed to be doing a keynote for a multicultural conference ironically,” Ms Abdel-Magied said. ”At this stage, it looks like I will not be able to keynote, but also I have been looking forward to doing further studies in the United States, and have also been looking to do further engagement in the US.”

”I have done all sorts of stuff in the US in the past, but it does not look like it’s going to be possible,” she further went on to say.

Dr Fary Ahmadi is a Sydney-based researcher. He is an Australian resident and an Iranian citizen. She shared that the ban caught her by surprise.

”I was really angry, I was angry that I did not see this coming,” she stated matter of factly.

The parents of Dr AHmadi, both visiting from Iran, were kept from boarding a flight on the weekend to visit their son, who is a PhD candidate in the United States.

”I realised that there is no chance for mum and dad to go, so it was a pretty emotional moment so they were all crying,” said Dr Ahmadi.

Australian officials in Washington were asked by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to lobby the United States administration that Australian dual nationals be absolved from the changes.

The ban is set to be lifted after 90 days in March at this stage.