The recent immigration crackdown in the United States has instilled fear in the global research community. High-profile detentions and deportations of academics have led foreign researchers to reconsider trips to the US, with non-citizen scientists also fearing for their return after travel. Incidents include the deportation of a Brown University specialist and the detention of a French scientist at a conference, raising concerns over safety and compliance with US immigration laws. The overall atmosphere is causing heightened anxiety amongst those involved in academia.
The anxiety is palpable, says Jonathan Grode, a managing partner at the immigration law firm Green and Spiegel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Grode says he is fielding at least 20 calls a day from clients who ask if it is safe for them to travel.
The pressure has been building for months as the new administration of US President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a promise to toughen border security, takes shape.
In one case, a kidney transplant specialist at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, was deported to Lebanon after trying to re-enter the United States with a valid visa.
The US Department of Homeland Security says that the scientist had confidential information from a US national laboratory on his devices, in violation of a non-disclosure agreement.
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