Student Voices & Free Speech

May 20

What’s Happening

Since taking office in January, the Trump administration’s student crackdown has appeared to have a special focus on Muslim and “non white” students for deportation, especially students from Muslim-majority countries, primarily targeting African, Arab, Middle Eastern and Asian students. Recently, the policies have widened to include include students from other countries such as India, South Korea, and China.

Lacking any measure of a counteraction, the universities’ incapacity to effectively respond helped lay the groundwork for Trump’s supercharged attacks on political speech that defies his agenda.

The Ruse

While the Trump administration claims to be fighting “antisemitism“ on college campuses, even Jewish organizations argue against his sweeping motions.

“Intent on maintaining the status quo of unquestioning U.S. support for Israel — and well aware of the power our movements have to shift popular opinion — the Trump regime and anti-Palestinian lobby groups are resorting to fear tactics in a desperate bid to silence us.”
– Jewish Voice for Peace

The Attacks

Over half of the incidents of repression reported to Palestine Legal last year were related to schools and universities.

The Department of Homeland Security sent a letter to Harvard threatening to revoke its eligibility to enroll international students unless it submits information on international students’ disciplinary records and protest participation.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said under his direction, more than 300 visas – “primarily student visas, some visitor visas” – have been revoked.

The Trump administration also announced it would block Harvard from receiving any new federal research grants.

The Policies

As the Trump administration claims to be fighting “illegal immigrants” and antisemitism, “in some cases, the government has gone after students with minor infractions or misdemeanors on their record, or, for others, no criminal history at all.” - the Intercept

According to immigration attorneys, government’s new policy appears to be designed to coerce students into abandoning their studies and “self-deporting” despite not violating their immigration status.

“Intent on maintaining the status quo of unquestioning U.S. support for Israel — and well aware of the power our movements have to shift popular opinion — the Trump regime and anti-Palestinian lobby groups are resorting to fear tactics in a desperate bid to silence us.” - Jewish Voice for Peace

The Students

Mahmoud Khalil

A green card holder and graduate student of Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, and one of the school’s most prominent pro-Palestinian activists. Khalil was among the first students detained by ICE.

Khalil was arrested by federal agents March 8 and taken to a detention facility in Louisiana after his lawyer said his green card was revoked and he was ordered to be deported by the Trump administration after baselessly claiming he is a Hamas sympathizer, a threat to national security, and poses “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”

Badar Khan Suri

An Indian national and Georgetown scholar whose research focuses on peacebuilding in the Middle East, Khan Suri was arrested in his Virginia home in mid-March after his J-1 visa was revoked.

DHS alleged he was “actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media,” and that he had “close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas.”

Like other student detainees, Khan Suri has been accused of posing a threat to national security. He was held in detention in Texas where for over a month until his release last week.

Read more about Badar Khan Suri and his detention

Rumeysa Öztürk

A Turkish national, Öztürk is a Tufts Ph.D. student who was arrested and physically restrained by six plainclothes officers near her apartment by Tufts University’s Somerville campus.

The arrest, which was captured on surveillance video, was described by Tufts President Sunil Kumar as “disturbing.”

When asked about Öztürk’s case, Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested, without evidence, that the 30-year-old participated in disruptive student protests over Israel’s military operations in Gaza.

Öztürk was held in custody for six weeks since March 25th until her recent release on May 10th.

The Takeaways

While the White House claims that their efforts to crack down on protests and diversity initiatives are part of a push to address antisemitism, these attacks lead to greater concerns about academic freedom and the future of free speech on and off college campuses across the U.S.

Any threats to the status quo or “U.S. interests” as defined by the government seem punishable. There is heightened fear, even amongst U.S. citizens in relation to their activism or what could be misconstrued as activism.

The fundamental rights of religion, speech, press, assembly, and ability to petition the government are all under threat - and students are at the front and center.

Protect Yourself

Know Your Rights
- Visit cphb.org/knowyourrights to learn more about your rights
Report Hate
- If you face hate or discrimination, report the incident to organizations like CAIR-CA.
Learn More
- Stay informed on what’s happening. See below for further readings.