MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. (Sept. 25, 2017) – In its most recent effort to challenge the Trump administration’s approach to immigration policies, Tufts University has joined 30 other universities in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court to oppose President Trump’s executive order blocking citizens from certain countries from entering the United States.
Previously, Tufts filed amicus briefs in March and April with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, respectively. Those cases are the basis for the case now before the Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear oral arguments on Oct. 10.
“We have repeatedly stated our belief in the value of international diversity to Tufts in particular and to higher education more generally. We will continue to fight against policies that we believe harm our educational mission and treat members of our international community unfairly,” said Mary Jeka, senior vice president and general counsel, University Relations Division.
Although federal appeals courts had ruled against the president’s order, the Supreme Court lifted those restrictions earlier this month pending its October hearing.
Tufts has played a leading role in opposing the Trump administration’s immigration policies and travel bans and in supporting the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA). Earlier this month, Tufts submitted a declaration in support of a complaint in New York et al. v. Trump et al, a lawsuit challenging the decision to rescind DACA.
Other universities signing onto the Supreme Court brief are: Boston University, Brandeis University, Brown University, Bucknell University, Carnegie Mellon University, Case Western Reserve University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Emory University, George Washington University, Georgetown University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Middlebury College, Northeastern University, Northwestern University, Princeton University, Rice University, Stanford University, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, Vanderbilt University, Washington University in St. Louis, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Yale University.
