The ASWSU Senate voted unanimously on a resolution to show its support for international students affected by President Donald Trump’s executive order regarding immigration.

Resolution 46-15, will be sent to every Washington state senator and representative in the U.S. Congress, as well as Governor Jay Inslee, WSU President Kirk Schulz and President Donald Trump.

The resolution, written by ASWSU Sen. Kevin Schilling, stated that it was to “express support for students that contribute to our educational community on a daily basis who are affected under the immigration ban executive order.”

There are currently 136 international students at WSU from the seven countries affected by the executive order. There are 96 students from Iran, 29 from Libya, four from Sudan, three from Iraq, two from Syria, two from Yemen and none from Somalia.

Faraj Aljarih, president of the Libyan Students and Scholars Association and a member of the GPSA Senate, spoke on behalf of the resolution.

He explained to the Senate how he will finish his master’s degree in May and afterward had planned to return to his home in Libya to see his family, who he has not seen in three years. He was then going to return to Pullman to finish his doctorate.

Aljarih is sponsored by the Libyan government and is here on a student visa, but if he leaves he may not be able to come back.

Most of the students from these countries are here on scholarships, and are often teaching assistants or professors, as well as undergraduate or graduate students, Aljarih said.

He said the resolution is to let international students know that ASWSU supports them as if they were any other student, and that the WSU community stands together.

“As we say, Cougs help Cougs,” Aljarih said.

After the senators amended the resolution to state that it was historically co-sponsored by every member of the Senate, they unanimously passed it.

“This is not a political statement,” Sen. Austin Brown said. “We are saying we support our students.”