On Friday, President Trump signed an executive order on immigration and refugees. It establishes federal travel restrictions stopping the issuance of visas to Syrian nationals, suspends all immigration from seven Muslim-majority Middle Eastern countries for 90 days, and extending the ban to citizens of those countries who hold U.S. visas or green cards.

There has been limited impact of this Executive Order on the real estate industry in Massachusetts. That said, besides the obvious humanitarian crisis that this only exacerbates, our region is dependent on, and benefits greatly from, the diverse immigration into our schools and industries. Our domestic population has never been able to fully meet the demands of our growing businesses, with almost every economic boom fueled by immigration.

Historically, refugees have contributed greatly to our Commonwealth. They are an integral part of our engine of innovation, working for our local companies and, in many cases, starting their own businesses, hiring many of our young, skilled resident talent.

We encourage the Trump administration to reconsider this abrupt change in policy.