Following executive orders issued by President Trump in January, the federal agencies that enforce the immigration laws have arrested and detained several people associated with U.S. colleges and universities, including a legal permanent resident, on the basis of constitutionally protected speech and association. Today’s filing argues that the ideological-deportation policy has created a climate of repression and intense fear on university campuses, “terrorizing students and faculty for their exercise of First Amendment rights in the past, intimidating them from exercising those rights now, and silencing political viewpoints that the government disfavors.”

The following can be attributed to Jameel Jaffer, executive director at the Knight First Amendment Institute:
“The First Amendment means the government can’t arrest, detain, or deport people for lawful political expression—it’s as simple as that. This practice is one we’d ordinarily associate with the most repressive political regimes, and it should have no place in our democracy.”

The following can be attributed to Ramya Krishnan, senior staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute:
“This lawless policy has created a climate of repression and fear on university campuses across the country. Students and faculty shouldn’t have to live in fear that participating in a lawful protest will result in ICE agents seizing them from their homes.”

The following can be attributed to Todd Wolfson, American Association of University Professors:
“The Trump administration is going after international scholars and students who speak their minds about Palestine, but make no mistake: they won't stop there. They'll come next for those who teach the history of slavery or who provide gender-affirming health care or who research climate change or who counsel students about their reproductive choices. We all have to draw a line together—as the old labor movement slogan says: an injury to one is an injury to all.”

The following can be attributed to Aslı Bâli, president of MESA:
“The Middle East Studies Association joined this case because the threats and actions taken against noncitizen scholars and students have chilled their ability to engage in speech and association in ways that harm our entire field of study. This issue cuts to the core of our mission as a scholarly association—to facilitate the free exchange of ideas. It is incumbent upon us to support the interests of our members and stand up for the speech rights of all of our colleagues and students.”

• Read today’s complaint here: https://knightcolumbia.org/documents/pwkvocf6z4
• Read more about the case here: https://knightcolumbia.org/cases/aaup-v-rubio

In addition to the AAUP and MESA, plaintiffs include AAUP chapters at Harvard, Rutgers, and NYU. The associations’ members include tens of thousands of faculty and students across the country.

Lawyers on the case include Jaffer, Krishnan, Alex Abdo, Carrie DeCell, Xiangnong (George) Wang, Talya Nevins, and Jackson Busch for the Knight First Amendment Institute, Ahilan Arulanantham, and Edwina Clarke for Zimmer, Citron & Clarke.

About the American Association of University Professors
The mission of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is to advance academic freedom and shared governance; to define fundamental professional values and standards for higher education; to promote the economic security of faculty, academic professionals, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and all those engaged in teaching and research in higher education; to help the higher education community organize to make our goals a reality; and to ensure higher education’s contribution to the common good. Founded in 1915, the AAUP has helped to shape American higher education by developing the standards and procedures that maintain quality in education and academic freedom in this country’s colleges and universities.

About the Middle East Studies Association
The Middle East Studies Association (MESA) is a non-profit association that fosters the study of the Middle East, promotes high standards of scholarship and teaching, and encourages public understanding of the region and its peoples through programs, publications and services that enhance education, further intellectual exchange, recognize professional distinction, and defend academic freedom. https//mesana.org

About the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University
The Knight First Amendment Institute defends the freedoms of speech and the press in the digital age through strategic litigation, research, policy advocacy, and public education. It promotes a system of free expression that is open and inclusive, that broadens and elevates public discourse, and that fosters creativity, accountability, and effective self-government. https://knightcolumbia.org/

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