The ban on travelers from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia \u2014 whether they are immigrants or visitors \u2014 is to last 90 days. The orders also suspended new refugee admissions for 120 days and banned Syrian refugees indefinitely.
\u201cWe believe these new executive orders violate our Lutheran values and what it means to be an American,\u201d said Pacific Lutheran University president Thomas Krise.
Though the executive orders don\u2019t affect any PLU students or scholars, Krise said in a statement Monday that more than 17,000 students in the United States come from the seven countries.
\u201cThe PLU community joins with millions of Americans of all faiths, leaders of local and state government, and other community leaders to say we will step up our own efforts to provide direct support to immigrants and refugees who are threatened by these new policies,\u201d Krise said.
He urged the PLU community to join him in supporting their Muslim neighbors, including PLU\u2019s Muslim Student Association.
\u201cOur differences are, without question, a blessing,\u201d Krise said. \u201cAnd, our institution\u2019s grounding in the values of the Lutheran tradition instructs us that love can cast out fear.\u201d
\u201cThese are unprecedented times that challenge us,\u201d Tacoma Community College leaders said in a statement released Monday.
The college is committed to providing a safe and secure atmosphere for all of its students, regardless of citizenship and immigration status, according to the statement.
\u201cWe are proud of our students and staff members, who come from all over the world, who make TCC a great place to be,\u201d the statement read.
The college has several students from the affected countries, spokeswoman Tamyra Howser said.
\u201cEveryone is welcomed here,\u201d she said.
TCC will continue to accept undocumented students.
\u201cOur doors have been open for 50-plus years, and our doors will remain open,\u201d the college said.
A rally and open mic organized Monday in University of Puget Sound\u2019s Wheelock Student Center was themed, \u201cNO BAN, NO WALL, NO SILENCE,\u201d according to Gayle McIntosh, executive director of communications.
UPS President Isiaah Crawford said in a Monday statement that Trump\u2019s executive orders have heightened concerns \u201cfor the safety and well-being of members of our campus community and of our democracy.\u201d
McIntosh said no UPS students are from the affected countries.
Regardless of where its students come from, UPS will continue to protect them all, including undocumented ones, Crawford said.
\u201cAs an institution of higher education we have an obligation to each other and to our society to work every day to bring to fruition a welcoming and inclusive society that represents the highest ideals of American democracy,\u201d Crawford said.
The UW is closely monitoring the changing immigration situation and how it will affect its more than 80 students from the seven countries, spokesman Victor Balta said.
UW President Ana Mari Cauce posted on her blog Sunday that the school will stand with its international students, staff members and scholars.
Cauce came to the United States as an immigrant.
\u201cWhen I arrived to this country in 1959, it was as a political refugee from Cuba,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI then became an immigrant on a \u2018green card,\u2019 and 15 years later, a U. S. citizen proud to commit to the values that have made this country great, including its almost singular ability to welcome the world\u2019s tired, poor and huddled masses \u2018yearning to breathe free,\u2019 as well as its artists, scholars, and scientists coming here to study or to teach.\u201d
More than 100 people gathered on the Tacoma campus Monday to protest Trump\u2019s orders.<\/p>\n