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.