AUSTIN, Texas _ The University of Texas at Austin is telling staff and students from the seven countries affected by Donald Trump's immigrant travel ban to avoid the Mexican border.
"We're telling citizens of the seven affected countries that they shouldn't travel at this point," said UT spokesman J.B. Bird. "We're also instructing students not to go near the Mexican border because there are checkpoints near the border."
Bird said the school's recommendation not to approach the border was made out of "an abundance of caution." The Dallas Morning News has reached out to several campuses on or near the border to ask if they, too, are telling potentially affected students and staff the same, but none so far has responded.
UT's response is just one way Texas colleges and universities are reacting to Trump's executive order issued Friday afternoon. The order, which temporarily bans entry to the U.S. for citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries, has led to widespread confusion and concern as hundreds of refugees, green-card holders and other immigrants were detained at airports across the country.
Several other schools are telling faculty, staff and students from the seven countries to avoid traveling abroad at this time and are offering legal support to members of their campus communities affected by the order.
On Monday, Texas A&M President Michael Young urged people from the seven countries to "remain in the United States until the completion of their programs or until they plan to move to their home country permanently"; several other campuses have also issued the same recommendation.
It's unclear at this time how many professors, staffers and students from the seven countries are attending Texas colleges and universities. UT-Austin has counted 110 people and said they are all in the country. The University of Houston said 280 of its students are citizens of countries included in the ban and one, a Ph.D. chemistry student from Iran, is out of the country.
The Texas A&M University System and UT System are still counting potentially affected members of their campus communities.
More than 100 academics from Texas colleges and universities have signed a petition against the travel ban.
