On the evening of March 8th, plainclothes agents with the Department of Homeland Security illegally arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a leading activist at Columbia University, at his home, asserting that they were revoking his Green Card. At the time of the writing of this letter, he remains in ICE custody. This is an unprecedented action that signals the dawn of a new wave of attacks on student activists, education in the United States broadly, and the First Amendment.

Mahmoud is just the first target of the Trump Administration's newfound Anti-Semitism Task Force, which has plans to target students for criminal prosecution and deportation for engaging in constitutionally protected speech activity. The Task Force announced earlier this week that they are currently visiting and investigating 10 universities for alleged antisemitism on campus. Within the coming hours and days, we will continue to fight against all attempts at repression against students by the current administration which could include more arrests, revocations of visas, deportations, and even criminal charges.

Under a false pretense of combating anti-semitism, the Department of Justice investigations are part of a broad and multi-pronged attack on both the movement for Palestine and on the principles and institutions of higher education, which are foundational to the fostering of healthy and participatory democracy. Mahmoud’s detention comes in the wake of an announcement by the Trump Administration to cut millions of dollars in federal grants to colleges and universities. The intensification of threats against students – whether through the cutting of critical funding or the continuous fear of immigration detention and deportation – is not only an attack on students and the First Amendment but is a major disruption to the innovative research and scholarly work taking place on college campuses across the country.

At its core, the administration’s actions against pro-Palestine views and educational institutions are an unconstitutional abuse of state authority intended to target, punish, and criminalize viewpoints that it is ideologically opposed to.  The suppression of dissent on college campuses by the Department of Justice, DHS, and ICE is a preview of what the current government plans to impose on all sectors of society that challenge the agenda of the far-right ideologues and billionaires who dominate the Trump White House.

Universities are supposed to be spaces that promote intellectual curiosity, exploration, and the free exchange of ideas, all of which are fundamental for the functioning of democracy. The presence of Department of Justice agents and immigration enforcement officers on campuses across the country sends a clear message – unless we act now, cherished First Amendment rights will no longer be protected on college campuses.

We, the signers below, condemn the vicious attacks against free speech and the targeting of immigrant students, particularly student activists and protestors. Throughout history, the repression of student movements has always been the harbinger of a broader assault against basic democratic and civil rights for the rest of the nation. Now is the time that we must stand together to protect our students, our right to education, and our constitutional right to Free Speech.

Signed,

Alana Hadid • Amanda Yee • Andy Hsaio • Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys UAW 2325 Executive Board • Ayah Jardaneh • Barbara Ransby • Brandon Mancilla, Director, UAW Region 9A • Brian Becker • Carl Rosen, General President, United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE) • Cassondra Curiel, President, United Educators of San Francisco • Dr. Cathy Cohen • Christopher Lioi • Clarissa Bitar • Claudia de la Cruz • Constance Tsang • Dr. Cornel West • Dave Foley, President, SEIU 509 • Deema Azar • Derecka Purnell • Dr. Etienne Balibar • Dr. Anne Elizabeth Moore • Dr. Chandra T Mohanty • Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly • Dr. Christina Sharpe • Dr. Corinna Mullin • Dr. Crystal Luo • Dr. Dana Seitler • Dr. Dana Luciano • Dr. David Stovall • Dr. Dayo Gore • Dr. Derek Ford • Dr. Fida Adely • Dr. Gabriel Winant • Dr. Geo Maher • Dr. Hannah Appel • Dr. Gerald Horne • Dr. Hakim Adi • Dr. Helen Tilley • Dr. James Early • Dr. Janice Levi • Dr. Jodi Dean • Dr. Josh Epstein • Dr. Joshua Myers • Dr. Judith Butler • Dr. Kam Copeland • Dr. Kathi Weeks • Dr. Laurel Harris • Dr. Laurie King • Dr. Layla Brown • Dr. Leslie Harris • Dr. Mariam Taher • Dr. Mark Lilla • Dr. Mark Lilla • Dr. Martha Biondi • Dr. Matteo Capasso • Dr. Melina Abdullah • Dr. Meredith McGill • Dr. Michael Hardt • Dr. Miguel Martinez • Dr. Nader Hashemi • Dr. Nadine Naber • Dr. Nancy Mithlo • Dr. Neelofer Qadir • Dr. Neferti Tadiar • Dr. Nick Estes • Dr. Nitasha Sharma • Patrick Burke, President of UAW Local 2322 • Dr. Raj Patel • Dr. Rebecca Zorach • Dr. Rinaldo Walcott • Dr. Robin D.G. Kelley • Dr. Rose Brewer • Dr. Rosemari Mealy • Dr. Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz • Dr. Ryan Boyd • Dr. Ryan Sheldon • Dr. Sarah Kureshi • Dr. Satya P. Mohanty • Dr. Shana Redmond • Dr. Shantel Gabrieal Buggs • Dr. Stacey Sutton • Dr. Theodora Danylevich • Dr. Theodore Foster • Dr. Vijay Prashad • Dr. William Callison • Dr. Yatta Kiazolu • Dr. Zalika Ibaorimi • Elijah Blanton, Unit Chair, Student Employees of The New School (SENS) ACT-UAW Local 7902 • Elizabeth Lemons, Higher Education Chapter President, SEIU 509 • Elora Greiner, President, GOLD-UE 261 • Eugene Puryear • Evan Yamaguchi, President, GSU-UE Local 1103 • Gail Walker • Gloria La Riva • Grant Miner, President, Student Workers of Columbia - UAW 2710 • Hamza Ali • Jaclyn Lovell, President, ACT-UAW Local 7902 • Jacob Andrews • Jheanelle Brown • Jodie Evans • Katie Halper • Kazu Makino • Krystal Jagoo • Lauren Chua, President, UE Local 256 MIT Graduate Student Union • Lauren Jauregui • Lauren Patten • Lumumba Akinwole-Bandele • Madison Albano, Co-Chair, GEO UAW 2322 • Manu Chander • Mara Verheyden-Hilliard • Marissa Bode • Michael Ziegler, President, Local 6516 at Brown University • Mike Kramer, Executive Vice President, UNITE HERE Local 26 • Niki Franco • NUGW-UE Local 1122 Executive Board • Nyssa Tucker, President, UNC Graduate Workers Union • Presence O’Neal, President, Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation • Rafael Jaime, President, UAW 4811 • Ramona Malczynski, President, UGW UNM UE Local 1466 • Rania Khalek • Razvan Stanescu, President, Graduate Employee Organization UAW 1596, UMass Lowell • Richard Hooker, Principal Officer, Teamsters Local 623 • Samia Halaby • Sara Ramirez • Sara V. Speller, President, HGSU-UAW Local 5118 • Sheila Xiao • Simon Davis • Sudhanva Deshpande • Susan Abulhawa • Susie Day • Suzanne Adely • Suzanne Basson, Co-President, Graduate Employees' Organization Local 6300 IFT/AFT AFL-CIO • Terrell James, Co-Chair, GEO UAW 2322 • Tony Mirasola, Co-President, Graduate Employees' Organization Local 6300 IFT/AFT AFL-CIO