3 hours ago
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EXCLUSIVE
Letter called connected University of Texas astatine Austin to denounce prohibition connected Iranians and instrumentality ‘immediate ineligible action’.
A apical assemblage successful the United States has declined to reason President Donald Trump’s question prohibition connected Iran aft a telephone to enactment by its Iranian students.
In a missive past month, the radical of students called connected the University of Texas astatine Austin to denounce Trump’s “sweeping and discriminatory” ban, instrumentality “immediate ineligible action” against the measure, and reaffirm enactment for Iranian students and scholars.
The letter, authored “on behalf of the recently admitted Iranian students”, was sent to interim assemblage President Jim Davis connected July 21, weeks aft Trump signed an enforcement bid banning citizens from 12 countries, including Iran.
“This Proclamation undermines the precise principles upon which UT Austin stands. Iranian students and scholars person agelong been integral to the university’s world and probe excellence, peculiarly successful STEM fields,” the missive said.
In the letter, the radical noted that the university’s section of civil, architectural and biology engineering was named aft Fariborz Maseeh, an Iranian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist, successful a “testament to the enduring bequest of Iranian American contributions to education, innovation, and nationalist service”.
“This is simply a infinitesimal that calls for bold and principled action,” the missive said.
“UT Austin has agelong benefited from Iranian students’ world contributions. It indispensable present basal successful their defense. Failing to enactment not lone jeopardizes the futures of idiosyncratic students – it risks diminishing the ethical and intelligence lasting of the instauration itself.”
Al Jazeera obtained the missive done a nationalist records request.
Despite the students’ plea, neither the assemblage nor Davis person made immoderate nationalist remark connected the ban.
Davis’s bureau did not respond to a petition for comment.
Last year, 81 Iranians studied astatine the University of Texas astatine Austin, according to the university’s website, astir each of whom were postgraduate students.
The University of Texas astatine Austin is considered among the astir prestigious tertiary institutions successful the US, placing 30th successful US News and World Report’s 2025 assemblage rankings.
“After months of mentation and acceptance into the world’s starring probe institutions, we present look the heartbreaking anticipation of being denied introduction for a agelong time,” an Iranian student, who was progressive successful the letter, told Al Jazeera, requesting anonymity.
The pupil said galore members of a 1,500-person Telegram radical of Iranian students that they beryllium to person reported being stuck successful prolonged post-interview administrative processing.
A fewer of them person been refused visas, portion others person chosen to skip visa interviews connected the knowing that they would beryllium denied a visa, the pupil said.
Prior to the ban, galore of them would person already undergone extended information vetting to get a pupil visa.
Apart from Iran, Trump’s question prohibition besides applies to Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The pupil said Iranians were facing “collective punishment” by the Trump administration.
“People indispensable not beryllium equated with their governments,” the pupil said.
“Such broad measures are neither tenable nor fair, and they undermine the precise principles of justice, world freedom, and adjacent accidental that the United States has agelong stood for.”
More than 12,300 Iranian students studied successful the US during the 2023-2024 world year, up from 10,812 a twelvemonth earlier, according to the US State Department.
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