Dear Colleague,
The last nine months have witnessed the most extraordinary attacks on higher education that the United States has ever seen—from the dismantling of our biomedical research infrastructure and the abduction of students in broad daylight to coordinated assaults on our institutions and the deliberate unraveling of the student loan system. To meet this moment, AAUP members are working on multiple fronts, pursuing organizing, mobilization, and legal strategies. Will you join us?
To date, the AAUP has brought eight suits against the Trump administration—and we have scored important wins.
- In AAUP Harvard Faculty Chapter v. United States Department of Justice, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration’s termination of grant funding violated the First Amendment and federal statutes because it was retaliation for—and an attempt to suppress—protected speech. The administration’s attempts to coerce universities through threats to withhold grant funding are widespread. This decision should provide ammunition for opposing such threats and we hope it will give university administrations some backbone in standing up to the Trump administration.
- In AAUP v. Rubio, a federal court issued a landmark decision finding 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. A two-week trial in July was the first major trial of President Trump’s second term and included the testimony of fifteen witnesses, including a number of courageous AAUP members, forcing the disclosure of a wealth of new details about the policy and its devastating effects on campuses nationwide
- Most recently, we filed suit with a coalition of allies seeking to block Trump’s proclamation imposing a fee of $100,000 on employers for each new H-1B visa petition.
We can only pursue these cases because AAUP members join together to make them possible.
Please join now to support this work as an active member or, if you are not employed in higher ed, as an associate supporter.
In solidarity,
The AAUP
P.S. If you're already an AAUP member and think you're getting this by mistake, please let us know. We may have two email addresses for you in our database. Email us at [email protected] and we'll get it sorted.
