Among the guiding principles of science diplomacy is the precision of law – as a key building block of science with society, including the natural sciences, social sciences and Indigenous knowledge. The precision of law reflects current circumstances, which are inherently transdisciplinary.
The eloquent “Opinion and Order of the Court” in the United States on 31 January 2026 to release 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention is spot on, as highlighted by the New York Times considering the foundations of democracy. Judge Fred Biery in his ruling also warned that he was only acting “with a judicial finger in the constitutional dike”. The precision of law also reflects change, in this case with the erosion of constitutional order in the United States, as happened before in Germany with the gestapo.
The United States clearly has a domestic problem, but as a superpower, the problem is global.
Our global problem was emphasized recently in Davos at the World Economic Forum by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney with his observations about “rupture in the world order”.
This global “rupture” is exacerbated by the colonial ambitions as well as the exclusive actions of The White House, as symbolized with the 7 January 2026 Presidential Action about “Withdrawing the United States from International Organizations, Conventions, and Treaties that Are Contrary to the Interests of the United States”.
Additionally, the U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office.
With hope as the antidote to fear – beyond control of The White House – the disenfranchised 10,000 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) scientists in the United States represents an untapped global force to help overcome the self-interested and short-sighted tyranny that clearly is “contrary to the interests of the United States” as well as the well-being of all on Earth.
