On Friday, January 27, the White House issued an Executive Order (EO) limiting immigrant and non-immigrant visa holders from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, and Yemen from entering the United States. The EO also directed the US Secretary of State to suspend the refugee admission program for 120 days and to suspend all refugee processing of Syrian nationals. In response to the EO, the University of North Carolina issued the following statement:
“The University’s international students, distinguished researchers, and faculty are valued and important members of our University community. While the exact impact of the Executive Order (EO) on our University community remains unclear, we have asked each of our constituent institutions to advise their students and employees who are nationals of the countries identified in the EO to refrain from traveling outside the country. We are continuing to monitor the situation, and we will keep our campus communities apprised of new information as it becomes available.”