A major Canadian professors association is urging academics to limit their travel to the United States.
The Canadian Association of University Teachers, which boasts a membership of 72,000 staff at 125 universities across Canada, recommended in an advisory published Tuesday that “academic staff travel to the U.S. only if essential and necessary.”
The announcement comes as President Donald Trump continues to target higher education institutions and international students, while antagonizing Canada with ever-changing tariffs and barbs about its sovereignty, saying the country should instead become the 51st state.
Travelers who identify as transgender or are citizens of countries at diplomatic odds with the U.S., the organization wrote, are among those who should take particular caution.
“Travellers leaving or returning to Canada, particularly those traveling to the U.S., are increasingly vulnerable to preclearance zones and border searches that may compromise research confidentiality and academic freedom,” the association said in a supplement to its advisory.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president still “believes that Canadians would benefit greatly from becoming the 51st state of the United States of America.”
The White House has spent months arresting and revoking visas for international students it alleges are sympathetic to Hamas. On Monday, authorities detained a co-founder of Columbia University’s Palestinian Student Union at what he thought was a naturalization appointment.
And an immigration judge last week ruled that Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent resident with a green card who represented student protesters at Columbia’s “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” last spring, could be deported as a national security risk.
The White House has also paused federal funding to several elite universities and launched investigations into dozens more in an effort administration officials say is meant to crack down on antisemitism and rein in diversity initiatives.
Canadians in general are freezing travel to the U.S., and tourism from Canada to the United States is expected to take a hit.
“Academics should carefully consider what information they have, or need to have, on their electronic devices when crossing borders and take actions to protect sensitive information where necessary,” the association wrote.
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