Dear John,
In a landmark ruling, a federal court yesterday ruled that the Trump administration, as part of a broad assault on our civil rights, violated the First Amendment in carrying out a policy of arresting, detaining, and deporting noncitizen students and faculty members for ideological reasons. The AAUP, the Middle Eastern Studies Association and several AAUP chapters brought the suit with the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, seeking to block the Trump administration from implementing this policy in an attempt to suppress speech (typically pro-Palestinian speech) that Trump opposed.
A two-week trial in July was the first major trial of President Trump’s second term and included the testimony of fifteen witnesses, forcing the disclosure of a wealth of new details about the policy and its devastating effects on campuses nationwide.
This case would not have been possible without the work of courageous members of the AAUP and MESA, who came forward to testify to how the Trump administration policy created a climate of repression and fear on university campuses. We could not be more proud of our members and of the legal team who pursued this case.
Join the fight— become a member of the AAUP or renew your membership today.
The court emphasized Trump’s broad campaign to suppress speech and undermine our constitution and challenged everyone to fight to save our democracy. “Perhaps we're now afraid to stick our necks out. If the distinguished Homeland Security intelligence agency can be weaponized to squelch the free speech rights of a small, hapless group of non-citizens in our midst, so too can the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, and the audit divisions of the I.R.S. and the Social Security Administration be unconstitutionally weaponized against the President's ever growing list of “enemies” or opponents he “hates” notwithstanding that political persecution is anathema to our Constitution and everything for which America stands.”
Read today’s remarkable decision here.
The Trump administration’s attempt to deport students for their political views is an assault on the Constitution and a betrayal of American values. This trial exposed their true aim: to intimidate and silence anyone who dares oppose them. If we fail to fight back, Trump’s thought police won’t stop at pro-Palestinian voices—they will come for anyone who speaks out. Defending democracy means standing up now—loudly, visibly, and together.
Join us.
In solidarity,
Todd Wolfson, AAUP President
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