Princeton Seminary Files Amicus Brief

Dear Members of the Seminary Community,

As I wrote to you last week, new policies announced by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have threatened the visa status of many of our international students. This morning the Seminary is filing an amicus brief in the lawsuit that Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have filed to halt this action. As a matter of public witness we want to support the efforts of Harvard and MIT in resisting the implementation of an unforeseen and precipitous change in policy that is unjust, and as the suit claims is both “cruel and reckless.”

Our brief presents the unique hardships the implementation of the policy would have on schools of theology and the international students who return from their studies here to become religious leaders around the world.

In the meantime, the offices of Academic Affairs and Multicultural Relations are working with affected PTS students to find a way to meet the minimum requirements of the new ICE policy should these legal means not succeed.

This is a highly visible case, which is moving quickly, and I encourage you to follow how it unfolds.

Sincerely,
M. Craig Barnes
President, Princeton Theological Seminary