I was awarded an important financial grant to participate to ICM 2026 by a short communication (it was already accepted) if I get a VISA which is difficult as I am Tunisian.
I have been selected to participate in the congress, but my country is on the list of countries whose citizens are not eligible for a visa. This puts me at a disadvantage.
I would not risk travelling to America at present, for any purpose.
I cannot travel to the US with ESTA, despite being an EU national, because I have visited and worked with colleagues from Cuba. (This is a very minor, personal, drawback compared to the attacks enumerated in the petition, I only mention this as a symptom of the fact that the US is not currently a welcoming country to the wide mathematical community).
As a young Cuban mathematician, when I found out that the ICM was going to be in the US, I already knew I wouldn't be able to go.
I faced for the second time the USA travel ban and contacted ICM in October, informing them about the ban and asking that, if possible, they at least provide online attendance. Below is their response:
Thank you for reaching out to the ICM Contact Center asking about our streaming options.
ICM is designed to be an in-person conference and there is not an option to attend virtually.
Please let us know we can assist further.
Thank you,
ICM Contact Center
Their response was quite disappointing, as it suggested little to no concern about hosting the event in a country that excludes individuals based solely on nationality. They also made no apparent effort to offer any form of accommodation.
Fear of retaliation from my US-based employer (I am not a US citizen/person nor am I living on US soil).
Honestly, I'm afraid of direct repercussions by the US government. I guess that means their politics of fear is working.
Sad to see that the US became a lawless country with state military used in racial discrimination by a convicted criminal. No place for a responsible meeting.
Mathematics suffers when voices are excluded. Let us meet where all are welcome. Let us not implicitly endorse the marginalization of our international colleagues.
What's happening in the USA is horrifying (as a latine USA resident) and mathematicians from around the world would be unsafe coming here.
The values of ICM are sharing the science across the world, which is opposed to the US government and ICE treatment of scientists and foreigners.
Signing anonymously as US immigration policy cracks down on people who have made liberal political statements.
I'm a transgender woman. USA is currently conducting a genocide on its transgender population (a crime against humanity); and it is not safe for ANY TRANSGENDER PERSON to visit USA right now. If the IMU feels that transgender people should be doing mathematics, and, possibly, attending the Congress - they should really move ICM out of this dangerous country.
I wish to remain anonymous because of the current status of the government, and for mine and my family’s safety. So that I am not placed on a list or targeted by any of these criminal organizations that we have dubbed lawful and part of the government. I believe in this cause, because I myself I am born from a Mexican immigrant. The acts they are performing on citizens, and the immigrants in this country can be called nothing else but heinous and atrocious, and it brings tears to my eyes that I no longer even feel like I belong in this country.
I want to bring to your attention an immigration incident that impacted the Korean community, and that is at the top of the minds of many Korean mathematicians when it comes to US treatment of immigrants.
In September, almost 500 tech workers were detained at a Hyundai facility in Georgia, their waists and ankles shackled in chains as if they were beasts. Koreans were outraged at this, in no small part because Korea has been colonized and subjugated for most of its history.
Many Koreans will be excluded from the ICM due to their concerns about these Hyundai workers who were, frankly, pretty adjacent to many of us. Something to keep in mind in conversations with people about this issue.
If you send out an email to petition signers, you may want to include this: ICE kidnapping people at airports, in a "safe" state.
The comments of the IMU in 2022, announcing the move of the ICM from St. Petersburg to online, should be deeply considered. What are the differences between the decision then, and the high-minded comments about internationalism and transcending political divisions now? I do not wish to participate in the hypocrisy.
I agree that the country is becoming hostile to immigrants or even visitors, and that it may be unsafe to hold events in the States. Also, even if it were completely safe, I think that signalling to the US that it must "play fair" to be treated as a part of the international scientific community is a good idea. Isolationist policy begets isolation, and holding events elsewhere helps to demonstrate this.
Condemn war crimes and atrocities committed by USA and support the petition for moving out the ICM from USA.
The US is a violent imperialist rogue state
I am signing in solidarity with the victims of racist acts of ICM and also against American interventions in the Middle East.
Condemn war crimes and atrocities committed by USA and support the petition for moving out the ICM from USA.
The US no longer deserves the honor to host science in any form due to its warmongering.
Stop the imperialism!
At a time when sober military analysts like Lawrence Wilkerson are expressing fears that the war against Iran being waged by the United States and Israel could culminate in the use of nuclear weapons against Iran, this expression of outrage by the international mathematical community is a matter of extreme urgency.
C'est une belle perspective, surtout si cela aide à rendre la science plus accessible et inclusive. Rétablir l'équité dans la recherche peut vraiment faire une grande différence, non seulement pour les chercheurs, mais aussi pour les communautés qui bénéficient des découvertes scientifiques. Si des initiatives comme celles-ci permettent une meilleure collaboration internationale et interdisciplinaire, ça peut réellement mener à des progrès significatifs.
Stop Wars! Free Gaza!
Enquelab Zindabad!
This is hypocrisy at it's peak!
Mathematics, and science more broadly, should go beyond partisan concerns.
The ICM 2026 must be held outside the USA. By dignity!
Free Palestine.
We must win the working class to internationalism! Do math for the working class not the capitalist class. It is idealism to claim math is pure theory that only serves the math community.
I care for the well being of each mathematician on this planet and from this spirit I sign this petition.
It is possible to participate to the satellite ICM 2026 event (WM)^2 the World Meeting for Women in Mathematics on July 22 2026 online for free
The ICM possibly should provide everybody with the same opportunity for participation.
It will be great to make it possible for all of us to attend this important meeting.
It is only fair to apply the same standard.
The cause is just. I fear it may be difficult to find a host country that has not aided the genocide in Gaza :(
For a safe environment for all the members of our community
I love to be part of the global mathematical community for impactful works for humanity and the earth.
The arrogance, cruelty, and aggression of the Trump regime is unacceptable. Please move the conference to a country that respects human rights and global norms of civilized behavior.
ICM cannot promote the deliberate destruction of academic integrity among mathematicians.
Trump es un genocida.
I’ve been contacting people in (mostly European) mathematics since more than 6 months I think. Back then I was focused mostly on the flagrant attacks on science from the USA government, which has now been replaced with attacks using actual bombs… what a world we live in :(
I intend at some point, when my personal circumstances are more favourable, to study for a PhD and possibly try to build a career as a mathematician; but in any case, I am deeply concerned for the safety of the mathematicians attending, and even survival of the profession itself, if the ICM goes ahead in the US as planned.
May Peace Prevail on Earth