Travel ban threatens medical research and access to care in the US, medical groups warn

President Donald Trump’s executive order1 banning nationals from seven Muslim majority nations, as well as all refugees, from entering the county threatens to damage the quality of medical research and healthcare in the US, medical groups and academic centers have warned.

The order bars the entry of all refugees for 120 days and all refugees from Syria indefinitely. The entry of nationals from seven largely Muslim nations—Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen—is barred for 90 days. The order was interpreted by the department of homeland security to include holders of “green cards,” who are considered legal residents.

The order, which was issued late in the afternoon and with little warning, caught most travelers unawares. Many had boarded flights to the US before the order was …