With students stranded abroad, colleges condemn travel ban

Natalie Swarts of Philadelphia calls out protest chants as the crowd follows in cadence during a protest of President Donald Trump's travel ban on refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017, at Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Corey Perrine) (The Associated Press)

Stephanie Hartley-Bah and her son Jah'kier Hartley, 7, both of Bear, Del., listen during a protest of President Donald Trump's travel ban on refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017, at Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Corey Perrine) (The Associated Press)

Deandra Jefferson of Philadelphia speaks during a Black Lives Matter sit in during a protest of President Donald Trump's travel ban on refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017, at Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Corey Perrine) (The Associated Press)

Dozens of U.S. colleges are opposing President Donald Trump's sweeping travel ban, which has left some students and professors stranded abroad.

The Association of American Universities urged Trump on Sunday to reverse his executive order halting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, saying it will only steer top scholars to countries that compete with the United States. Presidents from other schools issued scathing attacks of the move.

Many students and scholars from countries affected by the ban have been caught in legal limbo while traveling abroad.

Iranian Yale University doctoral student Ali Abdi left the U.S. days before the order was signed to conduct research in Afghanistan. Now he doesn't know if he can return.

Other schools with students or faculty who were stranded include MIT, Harvard and Clark Atlanta University.