A higher university in the United States refused to oppose the ban on President Donald Trump’s travel on Iran after an invitation to take action by its Iranian students.
In a letter last month, the Student Group called to the University of Texas in Austin to condemn the “comprehensive and discriminatory” ban of Trump, take “immediate legal measures” against the procedure, and reaffirm support for Iranian students and scientists.
The letter, which was written on behalf of the newly accepted Iranian students, was sent to the President of the Provisional University Jim Defis on July 21, after weeks Trump has signed an executive order prohibiting citizens from 12 countries, including Iran.
The letter said: “This declaration undermines the same principles on which Austin Austin stands. Iranian students and scientists were an integral part of the academic and research excellence of the university, especially in the fields of STEM.”
In the letter, the group indicated that the Department of Engineering at the University and Architectural and Environmental Engineering was named Feribors Masia, an Iranian -Iranian businessman and benefactor, in “a testimony on the legacy of American -Iranian contributions to education, innovation and public service.”
“This is a moment calling for bold and initial action,” said the message.
“Austin has long benefited from the academic contributions of Iranian students. He must now stand in their defense. Failure to act is not only behaved to future contracts for individual students – it risk reducing the moral and intellectual situation of the institution itself.”
Al -Jazeera obtained the message by requesting public records.
Despite the students’ appeal, the university and Davis did not provide any general comment on the ban.
Davis’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Last year, he studied 81 Iranians at the University of Texas in Austin, according to the university’s website, and they were almost all graduate students.
The University of Texas in Austin is among the most prestigious triple institutions in the United States, as it ranked 30th in US News and World Report 2025.
“After months of preparation and acceptance in the world’s leading research institutions, we are now facing the possibility of being deprived of entry for a long time,” an Iranian student, who was involved in the letter, told Al Jazerara,.
The student said that many members of a telegram group of telegram students 1500 Iranian students had reported that they were stuck in administrative treatment after a long period of presentation.
The student said that a few of them had been rejected, while others chose to overcome visa interviews about understanding that they would be deprived of the visa.
Before the ban, many of them had already undergone a wide security audit to obtain a student visa.
Regardless of Iran, Trump’s travel ban also applies to Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The student said that the Iranians are facing a “collective penalty” by the Trump administration.
The student said: “People should not be equal to their governments.”
“These comprehensive measures are neither reasonable nor fair, and they undermine the principles of justice, academic freedom and equal opportunities that the United States has long stood.”
More than 1,2300 Iranian students studied in the United States during the 2023-2024 academic year, an increase of 10,812 a year ago, according to the US State Department.
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