Critical Language Scholarship Alumni Letter to State Department re: Travel Ban

Delivered on July 18, 2017

Dear Assistant Secretary Taplin:

We, the undersigned, are diverse American alumni of the United States Department of State Critical Language Scholarship. We are students, educators, researchers, legal and humanitarian professionals, business people, social workers, immigrants, and descendants of immigrants and refugees.

We strongly believe in the Critical Language Scholarship program’s goal of “broadening the base of Americans studying and mastering critical languages and building relationships between the people of the United States and other countries.” We are grateful for the academic and professional opportunities the scholarship provides. Yet it is impossible to build meaningful relationships with our international peers if travel to the U.S. is banned based on nationality.

This is why, as cultural ambassadors and State Department program alumni, we condemn the Trump administration’s recent executive orders barring entry of refugees, immigrants and visitors from six Muslim-majority countries. We are alarmed and dismayed that the State Department defined the order as applying to refugees (the most securely-vetted immigrant group), and close family members of Americans.

The order will cause great hardship and pain for countless innocent people, many of whom are fleeing countries negatively impacted by American foreign policy. It also perpetuates harmful anti-Muslim narratives. There is no evidence that the ban will improve national security. In fact, refugees or citizens from these countries haven’t killed a single person in terrorist attacks on U.S. soil in the last 40 years. Instead, the ban is tearing families apart, halting immigrants from pursuing their dreams, and preventing war survivors from reaching safety.

Furthermore, we stand by the affidavit filed by former Secretaries of State and national security officials and the dissent memo from 1,000+ State Department employees against the ban, highlighting how the policy is a threat to national security, a shift away from multilateral cooperation, and contradicts constitutional rights.

We cannot stay silent in the face of such unjust and misguided policies. We are appalled that the Trump administration’s actions are directly undermining the State Department’s declared mission of cultural diplomacy, mutual understanding, and a “peaceful, prosperous, just, democratic world.” We vow to amplify the voices of those impacted, solidify cross-cultural relationships, and advocate for peace, freedom, and justice for all, regardless of where they were born.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned Critical Language Scholarship Alumni

  1. Sarah Flatto (CLS Urdu 2012)
  2. Asha Marie Kaur Sawhney (CLS Persian 2016)
  3. Mircea Lazar (CLS Persian 2016)
  4. Nicholas Borbely (CLS Turkish 2017)
  5. Patrick Harned (CLS Arabic 2015)
  6. Jonathan Jenner (CLS Swahili 2017)
  7. Nora Jacobsen Ben Hammed (CLS Arabic 2007, CLS Persian 2016)
  8. Reanne Wong (CLS Chinese 2016)
  9. Leah Tarabour (CLS Hindi 2015)
  10. Desiree Halpern (CLS Persian 2016)
  11. James Davis (CLS Chinese 2016)
  12. Elizabeth Purdy (CLS Hindi 2016)
  13. Michael H. Memari (CLS Persian 2016)
  14. Sujata Gautam (CLS Hindi 2016)
  15. Tenaya Goldsen (CLS Urdu 2015)
  16. Annika Gage (CLS Hindi 2014)
  17. Pooja Tilvawala (CLS Hindi 2016)
  18. Ariana Fowler (CLS Urdu 2016)
  19. Mia Grindon (CLS Arabic 2016)
  20. Josh Von Trapp (CLS Arabic 2016)
  21. Daniel Jesse Bromberg (CLS Persian 2015)
  22. Sara Maggin (CLS Persian 2016)
  23. Andrea Lorch (CLS Arabic 2016)
  24. Michelle Tong (CLS Chinese 2016)
  25. Ilana Gelb (CLS Hindi 2015)
  26. Farida Begum (CLS Bengali 2011, 2012)
  27. Abigail Ordillas (CLS Chinese 2016)
  28. John Ghaleb Al-Haddad (CLS Persian 2016)
  29. Aileen Byrne (CLS Arabic 2009)
  30. Omar Albert (CLS Chinese 2016)
  31. Rebekah Frumkin (CLS Hindi 2014)
  32. Nicholas Teale (CLS Persian 2017)
  33. Isaac Foster (CLS Urdu 2015)
  34. Mandy Conrad (CLS Arabic 2015)
  35. Joy G. De Guzman (CLS Punjabi 2015)
  36. Ryan Lott (CLS Chinese 2015)
  37. Anika Kabani (CLS Arabic 2016)
  38. S. Umar Farooq (CLS Arabic 2015)
  39. Avan Antia (CLS Hindi 2015)
  40. Sidney Tolo (CLS Arabic 2014)
  41. Dana Sweeney (CLS Chinese 2015)
  42. Kira Wegner-Clemens (CLS Russian 2015)
  43. Adam Monohon (CLS Chinese 2015)
  44. Joshua Rodriguez (CLS Arabic 2016)
  45. Kate Coursey (CLS Hindi 2013 and 2014)
  46. María Helga Guðmundsdóttir (CLS Hindi 2011)
  47. Sabrina Toppa (CLS Urdu 2011)
  48. Neharika Akkoor (CLS Hindi 2014)
  49. Michelle Read (CLS Hindi 2014, CLS Urdu 2016)
  50. Esha Grover (CLS Punjabi 2014)
  51. Britta Dornfeld (CLS Arabic 2015)
  52. Adam Hall (CLS Hindi 2013)
  53. Joseph Landis (CLS Arabic 2016)
  54. Monica Komer (CLS Arabic 2015)
  55. Maleeha Riaz (CLS Arabic 2015)
  56. Nicholas Guthammar (CLS Arabic 2016)
  57. Emily A. Durham (CLS Urdu 2011)
  58. Claire McRaith (CLS Hindi 2011)
  59. Nadirah Mansour (CLS Arabic 2013)
  60. Pa Chia Thao (CLS Chinese 2015)
  61. Chase A. Carnes (CLS Chinese 2015)
  62. Abigail TerHaar (CLS Punjabi 2014)
  63. Chelsea Cooper (CLS Punjabi 2014)
  64. Austin Spivey (CLS Arabic 2015)
  65. Laura J.W. Keppley (CLS Arabic 2014)
  66. Abigail Stickney (CLS Chinese 2016)
  67. Rachel Bass (CLS Arabic 2015)
  68. Katherine Downs (CLS Arabic 2011 and 2013)
  69. Ahmet S. Yücesoy (CLS Arabic 2015)
  70. Paige M. Giarmona (CLS Bangla 2016)
  71. Anne Willborn (CLS Arabic 2008)
  72. Harnoor Mahal (CLS Punjabi 2014)
  73. Kate Moran (CLS Arabic 2014 and 2015)
  74. Nancy Chong (CLS Hindi 2015)
  75. Kristen Canavan (CLS Arabic 2015)
  76. Ian Asenjo (CLS Punjabi 2016)
  77. Sonia Bajaj (CLS Punjabi 2015)
  78. Harpal Bains (CLS Punjabi 2015)
  79. Brittany Puller (CLS Punjabi 2015)
  80. Kayleigh Long (CLS Arabic 2011)
  81. Julianna Renzi (CLS Arabic 2014)
  82. Samuel Bigley (CLS Arabic 2015)
  83. Tal Frieden (CLS Arabic 2016)
  84. Sharon Azucena Nat (CLS Punjabi 2016)
  85. Anesce Dremen (CLS Chinese 2015, 2016)
  86. Evelyn Torsher (CLS Arabic 2015, 2016)
Sarah Flatto سارة שרה

Written by

Born & wandering NYer for justice🗽 Now @JWFNY @MJSolidarity #RepealTheBan Then @NYCAASA @NYCagainstabuse @NYCimmigrants @UNICEFUSA

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