We Stand With Our International Students July 15, 2020 Open letter to UConn International Students: UConn’s Office of Global Affairs stands with you. Yesterday, in a Massachusetts court room, the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agreed to rescind its July 6th rule for international students. It was a win not only for international students but also for the United States. The pain and uncertainty caused by the ICE directive on international students was cruel and unnecessary. Having spent the past several months coping with the pandemic both here in Connecticut and back in your home countries, we know how demoralized, anxious, and angry many of you feel. Coming on top of several years of rising xenophobia and restrictive immigration policies, this unfair targeting of international students goes against the fundamental values of our university, as stated both by President Katsouleas, in his Declaration supporting the State of Connecticut joining the nationwide lawsuit, and by Provost Lejuez, in his recent message to the UConn community. It was the strong opposition of many international students and their allies, such as educators in higher education institutions, legislators, attorneys, business leaders, and the general public in many states, that made the Trump administration reverse its directive. Although this directive is no longer in force, we know that you are still impacted by the message that it sent and the stress it caused. We want you to know that UConn’s Office of Global Affairs in particular understands and values our international students, scholars, and staff. You are important contributors to our classrooms, our labs, our teams, our clubs, our residence halls, our offices, and our lives. You help to make us a vibrant intellectual and cultural community. You are a key part of the UConn family. As we always have, UConn’s Office of Global Affairs will fight to ensure that our university remains a truly global university, with students, faculty, and staff from all parts of the world. Like the United States, our greatness is rooted in our diversity. Diversity invigorates the community, by bringing new perspectives and experiences from which to learn. An attack on you is an attack on us, and an attack on the ideals that are at the very core of the University's mission, and to which this country aspires. From this experience, we hope that you have regained your faith in the United States and its people. We admire your courage. Sincerely, University of Connecticut Office of Global Affairs Senior Leadership Team -- Rae Alexander Director, International Student & Scholar Services Zahra Ali Director, Global Partnerships & Outreach Mark Boyer Executive Director, International Studies Association Kathryn Libal Director, Human Rights Institute Glenn Mitoma Director, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center Roy Pietro Director, Global Training and Development Institute Yuhang Rong Associate Vice President for Global Affairs Susan Rosman Director, Financial Management Ngozi Taffe Assistant Vice President for Global Affairs Daniel Weiner Vice President for Global Affairs Matthew Yates Director, Education Abroad View the Open Letter<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fglobal.uconn.edu%2F2020%2F07%2F15%2Fwe-stand-with-our-international-students%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7C65c42d9d25234dcd56ff08d828f0992b%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C637304361103864019&sdata=KlCJW9uu2I6ZBBVCupbncOsfkq76%2BJ3irBuLhI%2F2jpU%3D&reserved=0> View more responses from Connecticut's and the University to the ICE Memo<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fisss.uconn.edu%2Fresponse-to-ice-rule%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7C65c42d9d25234dcd56ff08d828f0992b%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C637304361103864019&sdata=rsUXWjqYQ%2FX2JGhgLSuaVvVna1sAW1zjC09TfyUPLiM%3D&reserved=0> ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the INTERNATIONAL-L list, click the following link: https://ListServ.Uconn.edu/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=INTERNATIONAL-L&A=1