The Board of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) and the Task Force on Civil and Human Rights express our deep concern and dismay regarding the ongoing and intensified travel bans implanted by the Trump administration. Most recently, on January 21, 2026, the US State Department announcement that the US will suspend the processing of immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries, including Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen. (Countries whose citizens already faced a full travel ban from Trump’s December 16, 2025 proclamation, whether as immigrants or non-immigrants, included Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, the Palestinian Authority, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.)
This is a follow-up to our June 16 Advisory concerning that iteration of the Trump administration’s travel bans, which were first announced on June 4, 2025; our September 22 Joint Statement that condemned “in the strongest possible terms these measures, which use national origin as a loose proxy for race and religion, and advance discriminatory goals in restricting travel to the US;” and our September 23 MESA-AAUP Joint Letter Concerning H-IB Visa Petitions.
The new suspension began on January 21 and applies only to immigrant visas. It does not impact non-immigrant or temporary visas like student or tourist visas. At this time, it is unclear how the suspension impacts people already in the US and/or already in the process of obtaining an immigrant visa.
The rapidity with which these bans are being issued, the vagueness and indefinite time scope of their terms of implementation, and the capriciousness and xenophobia with which they are devised and applied leave our members from these countries as well as their colleagues, students, and teachers, in a state of anxious uncertainty.
MESA was founded in 1966 to promote scholarship and teaching on the Middle East and North Africa. The preeminent organization in the field, MESA publishes the International Journal of Middle East Studies and has nearly 2,600 members worldwide. MESA is committed to ensuring academic freedom and freedom of expression, both within the region and in connection with the study of the region in North America and elsewhere.
MESA continues to stand with all our members—regardless of their immigration status—during this precarious time.