ACS Joins Multi-society Letter Condemning Invasion of Ukraine

11 March 2022

President Joseph R. Biden. Jr.
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500

Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security
3801 Nebraska Ave, N.W.
Washington, DC 20016

The Honorable Kevin McCarthy
Minority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
2468 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Senate Minority Leader
U.S. Senate
317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington D.C. 20510

Secretary Antony Blinken
U.S. Department of State
2201 C St, N.W.
Washington, DC 20520

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
204 Capitol Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Charles E. Schumer
Senate Majority Leader
U.S. Senate
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington D.C. 20510

The undersigned organizations write to condemn the invasion of Ukraine and express our deep concern and strong support for the Ukrainian people during this time of crisis. We also urge quick Executive and Congressional action on immigration rules and research programs to aid Ukrainian students and researchers and their families in fleeing the country and establishing themselves elsewhere.

The scientific community of Ukraine is vibrant and contributes to the global advancement of knowledge and the progress of humanity. Ukrainian scientists, engineers, students, educators and their families are experiencing a violent occupation of their nation. Their lives are endangered, and a humanitarian crisis with long-lasting effects is unfolding.

Swift action by the Administration and Congress can make a significant, positive impact on the outcome of this crisis. Providing aid to Ukrainian students and researchers and their families is the right, moral, and imperative action that our leaders must immediately undertake. We are encouraged by and supportive of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) recent decision to designate Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status for 18 months. This is a first step, as is this letter, but more needs to be done, and the scientific community is ready to continue working with the Administration and Congress to do so.

We urge the Administration to take the following steps, as needed:

  • Agencies should use research programs—including grants, scholarships and stipends—to facilitate Ukrainian students and researchers establishing themselves in the United States or friendly third-party nations where collaborations already exist;
  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) should expedite the issuance of travel documents, diplomatic notes, and letters of support to facilitate the evacuation of at-risk Ukrainian students and researchers;
  • USCIS should expedite refugee processing in third countries and support Ukrainian students and researchers awaiting U.S. visa approval without delay;
  • The State Department should designate Ukrainian students and researchers as admissible for refugee status under U.S. Refugee Admissions Program Priority 2 Designation;
  • Establish mechanisms for U.S. universities and research institutions to quickly enroll and hire these students and researchers; and
  • Offer flexibility for Ukrainian students and researchers and their families for F, M, J, and O student and scholar visas.

We urge Congress to take the following steps, as needed:

  • Implement any of the above measures legislatively, as needed;
  • Consider a legislative solution for Ukrainian students and researchers arriving on humanitarian parole and those currently in the U.S. to apply for legal residence; and
  • Pass and fund humanitarian aid legislation to support researchers in Ukraine.

The above steps will benefit not only Ukraine’s research community but the many refugees trying to escape the Russian government’s attack.

We recognize that these are only some of the first steps that should be taken and that much follow-up will be needed by the broader U.S. research community. As always, we are available to serve as a resource as you consider our proposals.

Sincerely,

Academy for Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Research
American Anthropological Association
American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research
American Association of Geographers
American Association of Physicists in Medicine
American Association of Physics Teachers
American Chemical Society
American Crystallographic Association
American Educational Research Association
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
American Institute of Biological Sciences
American Mathematical Society
American Physical Society
American Society for Cell Biology
American Society of Agronomy
American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Association for Psychological Science
Association for Women in Mathematics

AVS - The Society for Science and Technology of Materials, Interfaces, and Processing
Coalition for the Life Sciences
Council of Scientific Society Presidents
Crop Science Society of America
Ecological Society of America
Entomological Society of America
International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium
Materials Research Society
National Science Policy Network
Optica (formerly OSA), the Society Advancing Optics & Photonics Worldwide
Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society
Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD)
Soil Science Society of America
SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics
The Biophysical Society