ASU President Michael Crow criticized President Trump’s immigration ban in an emailed statement amid a storm of political controversy Friday.
In the statement, Crow took aim at Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order enacting a nationwide travel ban, calling it "ill-conceived" and "poorly executed." The executive order suspended the Syrian refugee program indefinitely and halted all immigrant travel from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia for 90 days.
“This new executive order, which among other things, bans entry to the U.S. from seven particular countries and religious exceptions is plain and simple a poor piece of policy work,” Crow said.
Crow's message was sent to ASU faculty and staff Monday, Jan. 30 but was forwarded to students by Mark Searle, ASU’s University Provost on Friday, Feb. 3.
Read More: Hundreds protest Trump's immigration ban at airport
Crow said immigrants are an integral part of America and that universities should be seen as places of hope.
“American universities have served as beacons of hope for millions of students from around the world over the last 100 years,” Crow said. “Great leaders around the world and literally millions of newly educated thinkers and dreamers have been educated at American colleges and universities.”
The release of the comments come just hours after a federal judge in Seattle imposed a nationwide hold on the executive order. The ruling in Washington State came shortly after a federal judge in Boston declined to renew a temporary restraining order on Trump's immigration ban.
“What we are saying at the moment is that this is an ill-conceived policy instrument, likely to be studied and altered by the federal judiciary, as we are already seeing,” Crow said.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the Department of Justice intends to defend the executive order.
Crow said the University has been receiving messages of concern from ASU students, families, faculty and staff about the president's travel ban and is communicating with the university community.
"Here in the U.S., fantastic, almost unbelievable outcomes have been achieved by immigrants who attended American colleges and stayed in this country, " Crow said. "The net benefit to the world has been high as well as great benefits to our country."
Reach the reporter at isaac.windes@asu.edu or follow @isaacwindeschef on Twitter.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
