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)

DECLARATION OF
ROSS LEWIN

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
STATE OF WASHINGTON, et al.,
*
Plaintiffs,
v.

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DONALD TRUMP, et al.,

*

Defendants.
*

*

Civil No. 2:17-cv-00141

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*

*

*

*

*

*

*

DECLARATION OF ROSS D. LEWIN
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, I, Ross D. Lewin, declare as follows:
1.

I am over eighteen years of age, am competent to testify, and have personal

knowledge of the matters in this declaration.
2.

I serve as Associate Vice President for International Affairs at the

University of Maryland College Park (“the University”). I have held this position since
2012. Before joining the University, I was Executive Director of the Office of Global
Programs and Director of the Office of Study Abroad at the University of Connecticut.
As Associate Vice President for International Affairs, I am responsible for the direction
and management of the Office of International Affairs, which includes International
Student Scholar Services, Education Abroad, and the Office of China Affairs. The Office
of International Affairs coordinates international activities within the University’s seven
colleges and five schools, advancing a strategic plan for internationalization, fostering

and nurturing international partnerships, and developing innovative programming for
faculty and students to facilitate their development as global leaders committed to the
improvement of the common good.
3.

The University currently enrolls more than 6,100 international students and

employs 1,500 international faculty from 137 countries.

It sends more than 2,000

students abroad to more than sixty countries each year. It currently has 273 active
international agreements with more than 213 partners in 53 countries.
4.

I have reviewed the March 6, 2017 Executive Order: Protecting the Nation

from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States

(“Executive Order”), which

temporarily bars entry into the United States by persons who are citizens of six countries:
Syria, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, and Yemen (the “designated countries”). The
implementation of the Executive Order on March 16, 2017 will directly impair the
University’s ability to carry out its mission of teaching, research and support for the
State’s economic development.

Implementation of the Executive Order will prevent

some students and faculty from traveling for academic activities and will impede some
students’ academic progress and the progress of scholarly research. It will prevent some
students from seeing family members, and it has already caused anxiety, depression and

2

alienation among all international members of the campus community. It will lead to
enrollment declines, causing economic harm to the University.
5.

The Executive Order will likely delay the return of one student who has

applied for renewal of his expired student visa, a process which typically requires a 90day waiting period. If this student’s visa is not issued prior to the effective date of the
Executive Order, the 90-day ban will increase his wait time to return to the United States
to 180 days, thus impeding his academic progress and the University research in which
he is engaged. The 90-day travel ban will likely prevent some students’ family members
from coming to the United States to visit for upcoming important milestone events, such
as the May 2017 graduation and awards ceremonies.
6.

Students from the designated countries whose visas have expired or will

soon expire will not be eligible to apply for new visas until the 90-day ban has elapsed,
thus delaying any travel abroad for academic or personal reasons.
7.

Even students with valid visas have expressed hesitancy to travel abroad.

They fear they will be subjected to heightened scrutiny upon their return to the United
States, or that there may be additional executive orders forthcoming that will affect their
immigration status. As a result, some students have opted not to study abroad, an activity
the University regards as an important component of an undergraduate education.
3

Moreover, fewer graduate students will present their research at academic conferences
abroad and carry out field work at global experimental stations, thereby making those
students less competitive in the global job market.
8.

The Executive Order is disrupting critical University research.

For

example, honeybee colonies have declined precipitously in the last several years,
threatening crops that many humans depend on for their primary source of nutrition. The
University is exploring the possible causes and potential remedies for this condition,
known as colony collapse disorder, by surveying and mapping global honeybee
populations. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has recognized the University’s critical
role in this work by funding its research since 2009. This work requires a team of
experts, each of whom has unique knowledge and skills. None is easy to replace. After a
long search, the University identified a statistician with singular expertise. Excited to
join in this important work, she accepted the offer and was ready to relocate from Europe
to College Park to begin her appointment. Because she was uncomfortable about the
focus of the January 27, 2017 executive order upon predominantly Muslim countries, she
decided to reverse her decision, leaving the University with a knowledge gap that will
slow the progress of this urgent research. The University operates numerous scientific
laboratories, each of which is a complex organization with myriad interdependent parts.
4

More than 200 graduate students, post-docs, and faculty from the designated countries
staff the University’s laboratories. The loss of just one of these researchers will disrupt
work and delay progress for an entire lab.
9.

The Executive Order has generated deep anxiety among the University’s

international population, particularly among Muslim students.

They have expressed

intense feelings of insecurity, depression, and alienation. The University has mobilized a
team of professionals to provide special counseling services and has engaged legal
counsel specializing in immigration to advise students. Staff in the University’s Office of
International Affairs have worked many hours beyond their regular work schedules to
assist students affected by the January 27, 2017 executive order and this Executive Order,
diverting their attention from other critical matters.
10.

The Executive Order threatens the University’s enrollment. Close to 400

individuals from the designated countries have submitted applications for Fall 2017
admission. More than 90% are from Iran. If just half of these students are admitted and
accepted but choose not to attend the University because of the Executive Order’s
chilling effect, the University will incur a revenue loss of approximately $1.6 million for
Academic Year 2017-18. Moreover, the State of Maryland will lose these students’ long-

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term economic contribution, particularly because the overwhelming majority are in highdemand STEM disciplines.
11.

The Executive Order affects the University’s ability to attract talented

international students, which has and will continue to financially impact the University
and the State of Maryland. According to the 2016 NAFSA Association of International
Educators report, international students contribute $150 million annually to the
University in payments for tuition, housing, and academic materials, generating and/or
maintaining

more

than

2,200

jobs

in

https://istart.iu.edu/nafsa/reports/state.cfm?state=MD&year=2015.

2016
The

alone.
uncertainty

surrounding the United States’ immigration policy and the perception that the United
States does not welcome students from predominantly Muslim countries will deter
students from choosing to study at the University. The loss of just one of these students
reduces the University’s revenues.
12.

The loss of students from the designated countries will also diminish the

educational experiences of all of the University’s students, because their access to the
views and perspectives of students from these countries will be limited. Particularly
affected will be those students who are preparing for positions requiring global
involvement and leadership.
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