As every other professional organization, the ASA is a member of the American Civil Society. As such, it has the right and responsibility to react to issues that touches it, and to issues about which it has relevant knowledge and experience. The restrictions on foreign students access to American higher education, currently being considered, is undoubtedly one of these.
Many ASA members, like me, have come to the US, and have pursued doctorates. Then we have taught and researched in American universities and labs, thus enriching its economy. The ASA has had several presidents and board members who are foreign born, and the same occurs for many, if not all, other professional organizations. A significant number of American Nobel Prizes have been won (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_Nobel_laureates) by foreign born American researchers. And we have taught thousands and thousands of American graduate and undergraduate students.
Curtailing the access of foreign students to American universities will not hurt them, for good students are welcome everywhere. To be sure, European, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, and institutions of other countries will be, both, happy to receive them, and happy not to have to compete with the US for their recruitment. It is the US and its science, that will suffer.
This is not a Democrat or Republican issue; it is a National issue. The result of its implementation will be felt twenty years from now, when it will be too late to do anything about it.
It is, therefore, the right and the responsibility of the American Statistical Association, to speak about this issue, and to bring it up with our sister professional organizations.
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Jorge L. Romeu
Emeritus SUNY Faculty
Adjunct Professor, Syracuse U.
https://web.cortland.edu/romeu/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jorge_Romeu------------------------------