Scientists worried 'about the fate reserved for them' under Trump seek protection overseas

17 April

U.S. President Donald Trump attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 10, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard

Scientists whose research has been under attack by President Donald Trump's administration are reportedly clamoring to escape to a place where their contributions will be welcomed and respected.

The Guardian reported Thursday that France's Aix-Marseille University is now offering roughly 20 researchers a three-year position through a program dubbed "Safe Place for Science." The university was apparently inundated with hundreds of applications from scientists in multiple continents around the world for the small number of positions, which are expected to be filled in June.

298 have applied so far according to the Guardian, with 242 of them deemed eligible. 135 applicants were from the United States, and worked at prestigious and elite institutions like Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, Stanford University, Yale University and even the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Aix-Marseille University President Eric Berton said many of the applications were sent via encrypted messaging platforms, and that some contained "worrying, sometimes chilling, accounts from American researchers about the fate reserved for them by the Trump administration." Both Berton and former French President Francois Hollande, who is now a member of parliament, lamented that important scientific research "has become a risk for the propaganda of regimes" and called for France to create a protected status for scientists.

"[C]urrent asylum mechanisms do not take into account the specificities of the academic environment and the threats facing scientists within authoritarian regimes,” Berton and Hollande wrote in the Liberation newspaper. “This is why we are making an urgent request, one that is appropriate for the current situation: the creation of a ‘scientific refugee’ status.”

The news of the "Safe Place for Science" program comes as the Trump administration has been making steep cuts to scientific research on multiple fronts. Earlier this week, the administration announced more than $2 billion in cuts to multi-year grants for the National Institutes of Health, in addition to slashing millions of dollars in funding for Harvard University (which many Boston-area hospitals also depend on).

Recently, comedy actor Seth Rogen ridiculed some Trump-friendly billionaires in the audience during the 2025 awards ceremony for the Breakthrough Prize (deemed "the Oscars of science") including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Rogen said that it was "amazing how much good science you can destroy with $320 million and RFK Jr. very fast." Rogen's comments were eventually cut from the broadcast.

Click here to read the Guardian's full article.

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