(Bloomberg) -- In an open letter to Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, Harvard University President Larry Bacow detailed the effects of President Trump's recent immigration policies and cautioned the government against overzealous anti-immigration measures.
Bacow described visa delays, regulatory red tape and security crackdowns that make student attendance at Harvard “unpredictable and anxiety ridden,” according to the letter, which also addressed acting Homeland Security chief Kevin McAleenan. He also urged restraint in policies aimed at Mexican immigrants, particularly the so-called Dreamers, children brought to the U.S. without documentation.
See Also: Trump Moves to End U.S. Asylum for Central American Migrants
“Science and security concerns that focus on a few specific countries also contribute to student and faculty anxieties,” Bacow wrote in the letter posted on Harvard's website. “Visa policies mandating increased scrutiny of foreign students and scholars (and sometimes naturalized U.S. citizens) from certain countries contribute substantially to mounting concern.”
Bacow's letter echoes the concerns of other academic and business leaders. Last month, L. Rafael Reif, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, sent an email to the MIT community saying that the U.S. must avoid creating a “toxic atmosphere” for innocent residents and visa holders in its dispute with China over trade and security.
The U.S. has targeted workers from China, India and the Middle East and has instituted a broad crackdown on Mexican immigrants and those seeking asylum from countries in South American such as El Salvador and Guatemala.
See Story: China Warns Students on Growing Risks of Seeking U.S. Education
Bacow, who has been in his job about a year, traveled to Washington this week to meet with several Republicans and Democrats in Congress. Harvard posted details of his visit online today.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Green in Southfield, Michigan at jgreen16@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Janet Paskin at jpaskin@bloomberg.net, Alan Mirabella
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