The Trump administration’s unlawful arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil — a Palestinian student, a legal permanent US resident, and one of the lead negotiators on behalf of pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University — is deeply alarming.
Efforts by federal officials to deport people who have deep ties to the United States by revoking the green cards of those who advocate positions that the government opposes evoke the darkest days of McCarthyism and the Red Scare. They are a profound attack on our right to free expression and an aggressive abuse of immigration law.
The Trump administration’s actions are obviously intended to chill speech. If today the government feels free to target pro-Palestinian protesters, tomorrow it could go after other outspoken critics of its policies.
But let’s be clear: The First Amendment protects all people in the United States.
Colleges and universities must remain pillars of free expression and open inquiry. Students and faculty — regardless of their nationality or immigration status — must be able to freely engage in political discourse without fear of official retaliation.
Massachusetts academic leaders should reject the Trump administration’s attempted censorship of students and faculty and stand firm against any attempt to punish international and immigrant members of their communities for their political speech and beliefs.
Carol Rose
Executive director
Jessie Rossman
Legal director
American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts
Boston