State of Washington, et al., v. Trump., et al

Filing 118

Second MOTION to Amend Complaint, filed by Plaintiff State of Washington. (Attachments: # 1 Complaint Second Amended, # 2 Exhibit Exhibits to Second Amended Complaint, # 3 Index of Declarations, # 4 Decl. of R. Althaibani, # 5 Decl. of S. Amin, # 6 Decl. of B. Callaghan, # 7 Decl. of S. Dadgari, # 8 Decl. of A. Elfgeeh, # 9 Decl. of N. Fallah, # 10 Decl. of H. Ghasemzadeh, # 11 Decl. of E. Hassett, # 12 Decl. of A. Mubarez, # 13 Decl. of S. Parsian, # 14 Decl. of Z. Rasouli, # 15 Decl. of A. Shayegan, # 16 Decl. of J. Sime, # 17 Decl. of R. Branon, # 18 Decl. of A. Chaudhry, # 19 Decl. of D. Eaton, # 20 Decl. of D. Heatwole, # 21 Decl. of S. Hemmati, # 22 Decl. of R. Lewin, # 23 Decl. of A. Mehrizi-Sani, # 24 Decl. of V. Rabinowitz, # 25 Decl. of J. Riedinger, # 26 Decl. of V. Shah, # 27 Decl. of J. Wasserheit, # 28 Decl. of J. Wasserheit, # 29 Decl. of J. Wood, # 30 Decl. of N. Zimpher, # 31 Decl. of S. Buell, # 32 Decl. of R. Fullerton, # 33 Decl. of P. Johnson, # 34 Decl. of A. Lavine, # 35 Decl. of D. Pashman, # 36 Decl. of M. Rosenn, # 37 Decl. of M. Saunders, # 38 Decl. of J. Simeone, # 39 Decl. of D. Soike, # 40 Decl. of S. Topiwala, # 41 Decl. of J. Truppman, # 42 Decl. of R. Zawaideh, # 43 Decl. of M. Akhtari, # 44 Decl. of M. de Leon, # 45 Decl. of R. Eskandari, # 46 Decl. of T. Johnson, # 47 Decl. of E. Scherzer, # 48 Decl. of W. Berkovitz, # 49 Decl. of D. Duea, # 50 Decl. of L. Warren, # 51 Proposed Order) Noting Date 3/31/2017, (Melody, Colleen)

SECOND
DECLARATION OF
ROVY BRANON

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

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STATE OF WASHINGTON and
STATE OF MINNESOTA

CIVIL ACTION NO 2:17-cv-00141-JLR

Plaintiffs,
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v.
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SECOND DECLARATION OF ROVY
BRANON

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DONALD TRUMP, in his official
capacity as President of the United
States; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY; JOHN F.
KELLY, in his official capacity as
Secretary of the Department of
Homeland Security; REX W.
TILLERSON, in his official capacity
as Secretary of State; and the
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

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Defendants.

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I, Rovy Branon, hereby declare and affirm as follows:
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1.

I am over the age of 18 and am competent to testify herein.

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I am providing this declaration to supplement my first declaration dated

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February 9, 2017.
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3.

I am the Vice Provost for the Continuum College, a self-sustaining unit of the

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University of Washington (UW). Continuum College operates a broad range of fee-based
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SECOND DECLARATION OF ROVY
BRANON

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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON

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programs for the UW, including a large International English Language Program (IELP) that

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attracts students from around the world.

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4.

I understand that on March 6, 2017 the President of the United States issued a

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Revised Executive Order on immigration, which is to take effect on March 16, 2017, and that

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this Revised Order is intended to replace the Original Executive Order on immigration issued

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on January 27, 2017.

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5.

I understand that, among other things, the Revised Executive Order generally

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imposes a 90-day ban on the entry into the U.S. by persons from the countries of Iran, Libya,

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Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, subject to certain exceptions.

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6.

Continuum College’s IELP has routinely enrolled students from these countries.

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The students who come to the UW for the IELP pay a program fee of $3,680 per quarter and a

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registration fee of $45.00 per quarter. The IELP offers entry to students at the beginning of

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each quarter during the academic year (fall, winter, spring and summer academic quarters).

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7.

In my First Declaration, I indicated that four students (three from Libya and one

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from Yemen) had been accepted into the IELP for Spring Quarter (which begins on March 22,

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2017) and had been issued F-1 visas. I have since clarified that the students had not been

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issued F-1 visas. Instead, they had been issued by the University of Washington a Form I-20,

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“Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status,” which each student would use to

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apply for or obtain a visa to enter the U.S. in time to start the IELP. I have also clarified that

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the student from Yemen, who had been accepted into the IELP for Spring Quarter, asked after

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the issuance of the initial Executive Order to defer his start date to Summer Quarter 2017.

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8.

In my First Declaration, I also indicated that there was one student from Iran

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who had been accepted into the IELP for Summer Quarter 2017 and that she had been issued

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an F-1 visa. I have since clarified that she had been issued a Form I-20 by the University and

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had not been issued an F-1 visa. She had initially applied for and had been accepted for Spring

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SECOND DECLARATION OF ROVY
BRANON

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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON

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Quarter 2017, but requested to defer her start to Summer Quarter 2017. (This request was

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made before the issuance of the initial Executive Order.)

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9.

The three accepted students from Libya for Spring Quarter have not responded

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to Continuum College’s communications sent since the issuance of the January 27, 2017 Order

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and have not confirmed their intention to enroll in the IELP. According to my staff, none of

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them have been issued a visa to enter the U.S. I presume that they have chosen not to pursue

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studies at the University of Washington. If so, the University will lose the fees that each

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student would have paid to participate in the IELP.

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10.

The accepted student from Yemen and the accepted student from Iran, who are

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scheduled to start the IELP in Summer Quarter 2017, have not yet been granted visas to enter

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the U.S. With the issuance of the Revised Order, it is unclear that these students will be

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granted visas in order to enter the U.S. in time for the start of Summer Quarter, which starts on

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June 13, 2017. These student will likely need to defer again, or will choose not to pursue

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studies at the University of Washington. Should they not enroll, the University will lose the

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fees that each student would have paid to participate in the IELP.

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11.

I am aware of one currently enrolled IELP student from one of the six countries

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specified in the Revised Executive Order. This student has a single entry visa (which enabled

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her to enter the U.S.) and now cannot leave the U.S. while a ban is in place without running the

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risk that she will not be able to obtain another visa in order to return to the U.S. to complete her

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studies.

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12.

In my First Declaration, I stated that Continuum College had sponsored a

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professional instructor from Waseda University in Japan, who is a citizen of Iran, to participate

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in a regular short term faculty training program offered through Continuum College under an

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agreement with Waseda and that it was unknown whether this instructor would be able to

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commence the training program on February 27, 2017. This instructor was able to enter the

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U.S. and complete the University’s faculty training program because of the Temporary
SECOND DECLARATION OF ROVY
BRANON

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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON

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Restraining Order issued by the U.S. District Court in Western Washington and the

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Preliminary Injunction issued by the Ninth Circuit of the Court of Appeals. Had these not been

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in place, the University would have lost the fee charged for the faculty training program. If a

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ban remains in place, other similarly situated participants (from the six countries) for the

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faculty training program may not be able to participate.

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13.

I have reviewed the February 9, 2017 Declaration of Judith Wood, Senior

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Manager of Program Operations of Continuum College, whose responsibilities include

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overseeing the Visiting International Student Internship and Training (VISIT) program. I have

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since verified that the two VISIT interns described in Ms. Wood’s declaration are each citizens

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of one of the six countries specified in the Revised Executive Order.
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Since the issuance of the First Executive Order, Continuum College has not

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received any applications from any of the six countries named in the Revised Executive Order,

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which is unusual, especially from Libya, Iran, and Yemen. (In 2016, the IELP enrolled seven

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students from Libya, two from Iran, and one from Yemen.) Students from the six countries

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provide an important element of diversity to the IELP and to the University.

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My staff has also observed that the total number of applications to the IELP

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(this includes countries outside of the specified six) has decreased at least 24% from this time

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last year. While I cannot say this is solely due to the issuance of the two Executive Orders, I

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do have concerns about the longer term effects on the IELP if students cannot come to the U.S.

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and/or choose not to study English in the U.S. given the perception that foreign nationals are

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not welcome here. This would not only have a financial impact on the University, but also an

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impact on the University’s status as a diverse and global institution of higher education.

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SECOND DECLARATION OF ROVY
BRANON

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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON