Freedom of speech is a cherished Constitutional right. On March 8, the Trump administration directly assaulted that core American value by ordering the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to abduct Mahmoud Khalil from his home in Columbia University student housing. The Trump administration targeted Mr. Khalil because of his student activism and speech at Columbia University and is attempting to revoke Mr. Khalil’s legal status as a permanent legal resident of the U.S. without due process. This violation of First Amendment rights is an assault on the core freedoms and values we hold as educators, students, parents, and community members.
As a union of 3 million educators, stretching across the country to every community, we have an obligation to act. Together, we will continue the call for justice and to hold powerful people to account. Under the First Amendment, the government cannot retaliate against any of us for our protected speech or punish us for holding any particular viewpoint, even a viewpoint with which others strongly disagree. That protection applies to students on college campuses—no matter their immigration status, race, or religion.
The Trump administration’s actions against Mr. Khalil violate these rights and protections. The government has ripped Mr. Khalil from his home, detained him, and threatened his immigration status solely based on his protected political activities. This is a clear and patently unconstitutional attempt by President Trump to silence dissent. Political speech cannot be the basis for legal punishment. It certainly cannot be the basis for deportation.
When the Trump administration censors dissenting voices, like activist Mahmoud Khalil, all of us are less safe. The Trump regime has repeatedly threatened student safety and academic freedom through executive orders, with threats to pull funding, and by directing ICE agents to take lawless actions. These sweeping authoritarian actions aim to divide us by targeting those whom it has labeled as “other” be they Jewish, Muslim, LGBTQ+, Native, or newcomer. But we see through their lies. In the face of the dangerous rise of anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim bigotry and violence, we are called to meet the moment and forcefully condemn hate. But at the same time, this cannot be justification for a wholesale violation of the rights, freedoms, and laws that keep us all safe.
The Trump administration’s actions cannot go unchallenged. We demand that our elected leaders and our universities make this country a place where all of us have our rights and lives respected. We call on our higher education institutions to protect all their students and staff, to adopt Safe Zone policies, and to ensure that speech rights are protected for all members of their campus communities. Higher education institutions—whether private or public—should not coordinate with the Trump administration in its lawless actions and should not willingly allow ICE agents to enter campuses or receive private information about students, such as their location or immigration status. None of us are safe if this regime can abduct people from their homes based on their faith, beliefs, or background.
The core freedoms we value as educators, students, parents, and community members include our freedom to speak about our beliefs, the freedom to learn and pursue a better life for our families, and the freedom to have our loved ones come home safe without fear of being abducted on the orders of bullies serving in our own government. By joining together to confront the Trump administration, we can protect our freedoms, our families, and our futures by demanding Mahmoud Khalil’s immediate release.
