Earlier today, Columbia University, along with sixteen other academic institutions, jointly filed an amicus brief detailing their position on the recent executive order on immigration from President Trump.

The institutions include all of the members of the Ivy League, as well as Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Chicago, Duke University, Emory University, Johns Hopkins University, MIT, Northwestern, Stanford University, and Vanderbilt University. Each of the universities included statements explaining their specific interests as institutions that have “a global mission, and each derives immeasurable benefit from the contributions of diverse students, faculty, and scholars from around the world.” These individual statements emphasize the scholarly interests, but also allude to the importance of ideals such as free speech and equality, which are specifically mentioned in a number of the statements of interest.

The core of the argumentation of the brief falls under one distinct heading, that “International Students, Faculty, and Scholars Are Vitally Important to Amici, the United States, and the World More Generally,” which is then addressed in four more explicitly stated elements of argument; these are:

  • Each Amicus is Home to a Significant Number of Students, Faculty, and Scholars who are Citizens of Other Nations
  • These International Students, Faculty, and Scholars Contribute to Amici’s Campuses in a Variety of Ways
  • The Enrollment and Employment of International Students, Faculty, and Scholars at Amici Universities Benefits the United States and the World More Generally
  • Amici Endeavor to Attract the Best Students, Faculty, and Scholars from Around the World

The argumentation is then emphasized by statements under the heading that “The Executive Order Harms Students, Faculty, Scholars, and Universities” before the concluding sentiment of the brief is offered. The universities that filed the brief, in their joint conclusion, point to the decision by the Ninth Circuit appellate court and reference it specifically in stating why the included universities “support the relief sought by the Petitioners and Intervenor-Plaintiff” in maintaining the stay on the executive order.

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