More than 12,000 academics, including 40 Nobel laureates, have added their names to an online petition condemning U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent executive order that institutes “extreme vetting” of refugees and limits immigration from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen into the U.S.
The petition cites the executive order as “needlessly cruel” and “discriminatory,” further stating that it could negatively damage scientific research in the U.S. and hurt the country’s reputation for academic excellence.