Move the 2026 ICM out of the United States

We, the undersigned mathematicians, call on the IMU to reconsider its decision to hold the 2026 International Congress of Mathematicians in the United States this coming July. We rely heavily on the important precedent set by the IMU in 2022 when it decided not to hold the ICM in Russia in the context of its war of aggression in Ukraine and the potential dangers associated with holding such a conference in Russia in regards to freedom of political expression and the safety of LGBTQ participants. In the wake of this past decision, there is simply no sound argument one could make that claims international participants are more safe at this iteration of the ICM than they would have been in Russia in 2022. The current American government has demonstrated in no uncertain terms its unbridled hatred of immigrants. Indeed, the French mathematical society has already chosen not to attend the conference for these very reasons. The US supreme court recently ruled that government agents can stop and question civilians about their immigration status based solely on racial appearance or what language they speak. There are numerous cases all around the country of American citizens being caught up in this dragnet, and released only after experiencing terrible brutality and extended detainment. The highly publicized murders of US citizens by border patrol and ICE agents on the streets of Minneapolis and Los Angeles have not stopped or even slowed the brutality. Systemic mistreatment of detainees by federal enforcement officers have continued unabashedly. We point to the recent case of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a blind man who froze to death after being picked up by ICE officers and then subsequently abandoned miles from his home. And in Philadelphia, the proposed host city, Parody La died alone and without access to his family while in ICE custody in what is suspected to be (assuming one gives the government the benefit of the doubt that no intentional harm was caused to La) a case of severe medical neglect. This is the context in which the IMU is inviting mathematicians from all over the world, people who may not look to an ICE agent as though they “belong”, and therefore, people who may be subject to indiscriminate harassment and physical violence. And even if mathematicians from the 75 countries for which the current US administration has suspended visa processing are able to obtain conference visas, how can we expect such mathematicians to safely visit Philadelphia and engage fruitfully in the conference without fear of harm and unlawful detention? The IMU is irresponsible in its promotion of such risky behavior amongst the world's mathematicians, especially when over 40 countries have issued travel warnings to their citizens when traveling to and from the US. So if the goal of the ICM is to encourage a sense of international unity amongst mathematicians, the IMU would completely fail on its own terms were it to go through with its plans to host the conference in the United States. The impossibility of achieving this sense of unity comes not only from the actions the Trump administration takes within US borders, but also from its flagrant disregard of basic humanity all around the world. Thus, just as many mathematicians objected to Russia’s hosting of ICM on the basis of its invasion of Ukraine, we argue that the current American government disqualifies the US from hosting the ICM in 2026. Indeed, America’s role in destabilizing the world through widespread attacks include: the illegal kidnapping of the leader of Venezuela under bogus “war on drugs” claims, continued extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean, aiding and abetting the ongoing genocide in Palestine, including pushing for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza to make room for luxury real estate, the creation of a humanitarian crisis through a coercive and punitive blockade in Cuba, a brazen and thoughtless war on Iran (which included the bombing of a school that lead to the deaths of over 150 children and 20 teachers), and its absurd attempt to colonize Greenland completely against the desires of its current inhabitants These actions can be under no circumstances deemed civilized, justified, or representative of the spirit of unity to which the ICM aspires. Indeed, when Trump’s secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, was interviewed about the United State’s most recent attempt to disguise the destruction of another Middle Eastern country as “liberation”, he proclaimed proudly that “the only ones that need to be worried right now are Iranians who think they’re gonna live.” We emphasize that the violence perpetrated internationally by the US government directly connects to the primary concern of safety and well-being of conference participants. Given that one of the highest ranking governmental officials of the host country expressed an intention to indiscriminately murder Iranians, one might forgive an Iranian mathematician (regardless of their personal political orientation towards the war and the stated goals of its initiators) for not feeling a sense of unity at a US-based ICM. For the sake of the safety of our community and in the name of genuine unity amongst mathematical scientists across the globe, we the undersigned commit not to participate in the ICM if it is to be held in the United States. And we urge the IMU to move the conference to a far more hospitable location, one that would grant the ICM the chance to succeed in its mission of fostering cohesion and solidarity between mathematicians. Please fill out your name and affiliation on the Google Form below to publicly sign onto the petition. If you would like to sign anonymously, please fill out this form here. Our goal is to send this letter to the IMU after receiving enough signatures. If you’d like to collaborate on next steps, please reach out to Ila Varma (ila@math.toronto.edu) and Tarik Aougab (taougab@haverford.edu). We are especially interested in collaborating with those who are willing to contact national math societies about joining the SMF or hold a senior position at one of them and can publicize this petition. Signatories Tarik Aougab, Haverford College Ila Varma, University of Toronto Karim Adiprasito, IMJ-PRG Drew Lewis Andrés Villaveces, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sam Nariman, Purdue University Pieter Belmans, Utrecht University Antoine Chambert-Loir, Université Paris Cité (France) Jonathan Cornick, CUNY Antonio Patriarca Pietro De Poi, University of Udine Barbara Fantechi, SISSA Trieste Italy Abigail Taylor-Roth, University of Chicago Brian M Sutin, Skewray Research, LLC Arturo Sanjuán, Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas Matthias Köppe, Professor, University of California, Davis Soyeon Kim, UC Davis Priscilla Bremser, Professor Emerita of Mathematics, Middlebury College Alejandro Pereira, University of Göttingen Brian Knight Christelle Vincent, University of Vermont Kristen Dawson, UC Davis Philipp Wacker, University of Canterbury Hendrik De Bie, Ghent University, Belgium Jean Abou Samra, Eötvös Loránd University Chris Jones, University of California Davis Jens Bossaert, Ghent University Jason Carr, University of Chicago Kyle Ormsby, Reed College Omar Antonin Camarena, Institute of Mathematics, UNAM, Mexico City Antonio E. Porreca, Aix-Marseille Université Anouk Brose, UC Davis Padi Fuster Aguilera, University of Colorado Boulder Belin Tsinnajinnie Julia Williams, Cape Cod Community College Peter Keep, Moraine Valley Community College Connor Gauntlett, Newcastle University, UK Prof. Rowena Ball, Australian National University Mason A. Porter, University of California, Los Angeles Sami Assaf, University of Southern California Noé de Rancourt, Université de Lille, France Ana Ros Camacho, Universitat de València Marcello Seri, University of Groningen Florencia Orosz Hunziker, University of Colorado Boulder Claudio Gómez-Gonzáles, Carleton College Aditya Marodia, Student, University of Regensburg Haynes Miller, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Benjamin Braun Michael Barany, University of Edinburgh Robin Whitty, theoremoftheday.org Gabriel Rodrigues de Lima Vieira, Universidade Federal da Bahia Thomas Goodwillie, Brown University Max Lahn, University of Wisconsin-Madison Sami Douba, University of Bonn Lars Hesselholt, Nagoya University / University of Copenhagen Beatriz Mota Piton, Universidade Federal da Bahia Elton Brito Murici de Jesus, Universidade Federal da Bahia Jacov Tsimerman, University of Toronto Cauê Borges, Universidade Federal da Bahia, BRASIL Arul Shankar, University of Toronto Ahmed Abbes, CNRS Yuri Sulyma Mariano Sousa Queiroz, Universidade Federal da Bahia. Siddarth Kannan, MIT Fraser Sanders, University of Manchester Pedro Cusinato Loiola Lima, University of Brasília Jessica da S. Estrela, Universidade Federal da Bahia Johanna Mangahas, University at Buffalo Alan Unell, Retired Arrospace Corp FFRDC Enzo Nonato, Universidade Federal da Bahia David J. Webb, Chaminade University of Honolulu Brandis Whitfield, University of Wisconsin--Madison Benjamin Grant, University of Connecticut Steven L. Kleiman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Marissa Loving, University of Wisconsin-Madison Marcello Amadeo, UNIRIO - Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro Sofía Martínez Alberga, Bryn Mawr College Erin Meger, Queen’s University Tian An Wong, University of Michigan-Dearborn Sonja Brentjes, retired Roman Vasquez, Wesleyan College Assaf Kfoury, Boston University Mark Hagen, University of Bristol Johanna Mangahas, University at Buffalo Pedro Alcântara, USP Stanley Pritchard, North Carolina Central University Emilly Tainá, Universidade Federal da Bahia Daniel Flores Galiote, Purdue University Cagatay Kutluhan, University at Buffalo Izabella Laba, University of British Columbia Shiva Shankar, Independent researcher

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