Officers Statement Regarding the Petition to help Dr Jennifer Wexler stay in the UK
The Officers of CAA are saddened and dismayed to learn that the UK Home Office have asked Dr Jennifer Wexler, an archaeologist employed by the British Museum, to leave the UK. Jennifer is a valued member of the research community and is a passionate advocate for the use of digital technology in museum and archive collections. She is co-organising a session on Digital Innovation & Experimentation in Archaeology & Cultural Heritage Collections at CAA 2018 in Tübingen, Germany. Jennifer has lived in the UK for 11 years and is married to a British Citizen. The Home Office have rejected Jennifer’s application for Indefinite Leave to Remain because she has spent too long outside the UK – time which was principally spent on her archaeological research. The decision to ask Jennifer to leave the UK has implications for other academics who have to travel overseas to carry out their research. As Officers of CAA, we are committed to ensuring academic freedom and are strongly opposed to decisions like this that threaten to curtail that freedom.
A petition seeking to help Jennifer stay in the UK has been started at:
https://www.change.org/p/amber-rudd-mp-help-jennifer-stay-in-the-uk-with-her-family-and-continue-doing-valuable-research.
Please sign and share the petition if you share our beliefs.
Further information about Jennifer’s case can be found at: