Dear Katherine, Members of INGOs can normally apply to special visas. Has such legal status been considered for the Wikimedia movement as a whole?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_non-governmental_organization Regards, Micru On Tue, Jul 3, 2018 at 12:42 AM Katherine Maher <kma...@wikimedia.org> wrote: > *This letter is also available on Meta-Wiki here: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/?curid=10631068 > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/?curid=10631068>* > *Please consider supporting with translations. * > > Dear friends, > > On Tuesday, the highest court in the United States, the Supreme Court, > ruled in favor of the current U.S. administration’s restrictions[1] on > travel and immigration from seven countries.[2] In a 5-4 ruling, the Court > found that the restrictions were lawfully created, despite their breach of > the longstanding ideals of the U.S. immigration system and disturbing > comments [3] made by the current administration about the religious basis > for some of these restrictions. > > Of the seven countries named, at least three have active Wikimedia > communities. The Wikimedia chapter in Venezuela, Iranian Wikimedians user > group, and proposed Libyan user group represent the reality that our > movement has no borders. Our mission does not discriminate, it unites: in > these and other countries, we have friends, allies, and fellow Wikimedians. > > To our fellow Wikimedians, particularly those from or with family in > affected countries: we stand with you and reject the premise of this > outcome. Our movement is possible because of the belief that everyone, > everywhere, should be able to contribute to shared human understanding. We > believe in a world where every country, language, and culture can freely > collaborate without restriction in our shared effort of making free > knowledge accessible to every person. Wikipedia is proof of what can happen > when these freedoms are unrestricted. When our ability to come together is > limited, the world is a poorer place. > > The Wikimedia Foundation has opposed the restrictions since earlier > versions were first introduced. We responded to an executive order in early > 2017[4] by joining many other organizations and companies in signing a > series of amicus briefs before the courts hearing these cases.[5] We have > posted an update on the Wikimedia blog detailing our position on the most > recent outcome of this case. [6] > > We are mindful that these restrictions may have real impacts on individual > staff and community members, as well as our families and communities. The > Wikimedia Foundation rejects the spirit of this ban and similar > restrictions in place around the world that treat some more equally than > others. Our commitment to our global ethos and shared vision will continue > to guide our policy efforts into the future, as we strive to uphold the > values that make our movement possible. > > Katherine > > [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_13780 > [2] > > https://www.apnews.com/3a20abe305bd4c989116f82bf535393b/High-court-OKs-Trump's-travel-ban,-rejects-Muslim-bias-claim > [3] > > https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/12/donald-trump-calls-halt-muslims-entering-151207220200817.html > [4] https://blog.wikimedia.org/2017/01/30/knowledge-knows-no-boundaries/ > [5] See > > https://blog.wikimedia.org/2017/02/06/amicus-brief-immigration-travel-restrictions/ > , > https://blog.wikimedia.org/2017/03/15/amicus-brief-us-travel-restrictions/ > , > and > https://blog.wikimedia.org/2017/09/18/amicus-brief-us-travel-immigration/ > [6] > > https://blog.wikimedia.org/2018/07/02/supreme-court-immigration-wikimedia-values/ > > > -- > Katherine Maher > > Executive Director > Wikimedia Foundation > > 1 Montgomery Street, Suite 1600 > San Francisco, CA 94104 > > +1 (415) 839-6885 ext. 6635 > +1 (415) 712 4873 > kma...@wikimedia.org > https://annual.wikimedia.org > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> -- Etiamsi omnes, ego non _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
