More than 2,100 mathematicians have signed a petition calling on the International Mathematics Union (IMU) to move the 2026 International Congress of Mathematicians outside of the US. University of Toronto Associate Professor Ila Varma—co-creator of the petition—said that recent military and immigration actions taken by the US have been detrimental to mathematics and would jeopardize the safety of foreign attendees. The petition also references the IMU’s decision to reschedule the 2022 conference in St Petersburg as precedent, likening the actions of the US to those of Russia in Ukraine. In a statement in response to the concerns about the conference’s location, the IMU asserted that it was “especially important” to hold the event in person in Philadelphia “at a time when international collaboration and science face serious challenges.”
