By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
The leaders of Princeton University and the Institute for Advanced Study expressed “concern” after President Donald J. Trump put travel restrictions blocking anyone entering the United States from seven mostly Muslim countries the government had deemed as “sources of terror” and refugees from Syria., Princeton President Christopher L. Eisgruber on Sunday issued a school-wide message said the school was helping students and scholars who are overseas and impacted by the president’s action, taken through an executive order issued Friday. The university would not say how many of its people that is, only a “small number.”, “The legal implications of the executive order have been evolving rapidly,” Mr. Eisgruber said in the message. “My colleagues in the university administration will continue to monitor developments and identify appropriate ways to assist affected individuals.”, Likewise, IAS director Robbert Dijkgraaf said Monday in a message that the IAS has worked “actively with affected scholars” and helped them “as matters develop.”, “True to its mission and history, the Institute will always be a strong advocate for the unobstructed flow of scholars across the world,” he said. “In the meantime, we are committed to doing everything we can within the limits of the law to protect and support those who are affected by this executive order.”, In the order, the president issued a 90-day-travel ban on anyone from Libya, Syrian, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen, except those on domestic visas, NATO visas or other visas outlined in the measure. Also, he suspended the entry of Syrian nationals as refugees., “The seven countries named in the Executive Order are the same countries previously identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror,” the president said Sunday in a statement. “To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting. This is not about religion – this is about terror and keeping our country safe.”, But for their part, Mayor Liz Lempert and the Princeton Council on Tuesday called the president’s on immigration issues “cruel, counterproductive and contrary to the values we hold dear in Princeton.”
