Plaintiff Statements in Support of Adam Habib

"The American Sociological Association has become increasingly concerned about apparent systemic U.S. government interference in scientific exchange and the associated corrosion in the luster of the nation's democratic face to the world. ASA has become sufficiently concerned about the need to defend our country's commitment to free exchange — and all that it implies regarding the advancement of knowledge in scholarly communities and beyond — that the American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint last month, on behalf of ASA and other interested organizations, in the U.S. District Court in Boston. We seek to wrest a long-awaited explanation from the U.S. Departments of State and Department of Homeland Security as to why they refuse to admit internationally known South African scholar Adam Habib into the United States for purposes of scholarly exchange."

—American Sociological Association

"The exclusion of Adam Habib is reminiscent of the Cold War, when the U.S. government regularly barred from the country visitors whose views it rejected. The exchange of scholars has advanced knowledge across a whole spectrum of fields and strengthened our ties with other nations. This is one instance among many of the administration's overreaching in guarding our borders, and thereby continuing to damage freedom."

—American Association of University Professors

"This is not the first time that, by thinly veiled defamatory insinuations, an internationally respected scholar has been denied entry into the U.S. simply because his or her position on political matters differs from the official position of the U.S. government. When the U.S. perceives itself threatened by free public discourse, what does it say about our country? Our hope for remedy now resides in the courts to redirect the course of the ship of state toward the Constitution."

—Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights

"The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee is deeply troubled that a leading South African scholar would be repeatedly entry to speak in the U.S. Despite attempts by the South African Foreign Minister and the South African Ambassador to the U.S. to rectify the situation, Habib and his family are still barred from entry to the U.S. Denying visas to persons who are critical of U.S. foreign policies goes against our cherished value of freedom of expression, sends a chilling message to academics worldwide, and sets a dangerous precedent for our country."

—American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee