Opinion: Broken Promises Caused by the Travel Ban

The scientific community must step up to support students and scholars who will undoubtedly face isolation.

Written byHani Goodarzi, PhD

| 4 min read

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ABOVE: Protesters of the travel ban at the Seattle-Tacoma airport, January 28, 2017
WIKIMEDIA, DENNIS BRATLAND

In a 5-4, closely watched decision, the US Supreme Court sided with President Donald Trump’s administration and allowed the third version of the Executive Order on Immigration, also known as the travel ban, to go into effect. Regardless of the legal and political ramifications, there will be a considerable human cost, and the scientific community should be proactive to minimize its effect on the students and scholars subject to this policy.

Tens of thousands of students from countries affected by the travel ban, with already limited access to their parents, relatives, and friends, will be further thrown into uncertainty and isolation. They will need immense support from their communities to stay sane and carry on. I know this, because until not too long ago, I was one of these students.

I first entered the United ...

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Meet the Author

Hani Goodarzi, PhD
Hani Goodarzi is an Associate Professor in Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco and a Core Investigator at Arc Institute. His lab works at the intersection of machine learning and cancer biology, using computational tools to identify new ways to target human cancers. He received his PhD in quantitative and computational biology at Princeton University and is a recipient of the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise.
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