Dear All,
Today, the Wikimedia Foundation joined with more than 90 other organizations in filing an amicus brief[1] in State of Washington v. Trump[2] currently before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals of the United States. This case challenges the recent executive order[3] issued in the United States on January 27, 2017, which establishes immigration and travel restrictions based on country of origin. Other signatories to the brief include Facebook, Levi Strauss & Co., Microsoft, Mozilla, and Paypal. The brief includes legal arguments against the order itself, and details the real and immediate impact these restrictions will have on the Wikimedia Foundation and other signatories’ staff, users, customers, and operations. We expect it to be filed in other current and future cases challenging the order, as appropriate.
We know that the Foundation’s prior statement[4] on this executive order has generated debate in the communities, on mailing lists and in other forums. Some disapprove, with concern that the Foundation has taken a political stance on behalf of the movement. Others approve, with concerns about the impact of this order on the practicalities and values of open collaboration and sharing. We would like to clarify our perspective on this important issue.
From our perspective, the implications of this order - and the urgency of
our response - are clear. Beyond the issue of the values of open collaboration, this order will also have serious, tangible effects on the Foundation and our ability to support the Wikimedia projects and communities.
From an operational standpoint, orders such as these may substantially
limit our ability to deliver on support for the global Wikimedia communities. Much of the Foundation's work involves travel across borders. We cross borders to develop and sustain strategic partnerships with Wikimedia affiliates and free knowledge advocates. We travel to gatherings and hackathons to support and collaborate with Wikimedians around the world. We represent Wikimedia research and methodologies at conferences with librarians and scientists from across the globe. We meet with community leaders and board members internationally to exercise corporate and community governance and execute strategic oversight.
As the Foundation, we have an obligation to protect the Wikimedia projects and ensure that they thrive in perpetuity. We are not a political organization, but we are passionate about defending free knowledge, and the conditions for its flourishing. We believe that the immigration and travel restrictions posed by the executive order in question will have a detrimental impact on the Foundation's mission and operations, as people are unable to enter the United States or restricted from leaving because they may not be allowed to return home. Board and committee meetings, conferences, conventions, hackathons, and more may be affected by the executive order in its current form, as well by the threatened extension of restrictions to additional countries.
It is our obligation to engage with issues that affect the Wikimedia Foundation's capacity to support Foundation’s mission and the goals of the Wikimedia movement. From freedom of expression to freedom of movement, we will continue to do so, in service of our shared vision. You can read more about the brief on the Foundation’s blog.[5]
Best,
Michelle Paulson Interim General Counsel
[1] https://wikimediafoundation.org/w/index.php?title=File%3AAmicus_curiae_brief...
[2] https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/content/view.php?pk_id=0000000860
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_13769
[4] https://blog.wikimedia.org/2017/01/30/knowledge-knows-no-boundaries/ [5] https://blog.wikimedia.org/2017/02/06/amicus-brief-immigration-travel-restri...