The Trump administration is currently engaging in an attack on pro-Palestinian activism across universities in the United States (U.S.). These attacks prove that free speech is a luxury that can be taken away from anyone the minute they say something in contest to the current administration.
Since President Trump’s inauguration, his administration, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked over 300 visas for students who are involved in pro-Palestinian activism. Characterizing students who engage in this kind of activism as “lunatics,” Rubio supports the current administration’s agenda of scaring students out of engaging in activism for Palestine.
Rubio announced during a press conference, “At some point, I hope we run out because we’ve gotten rid of all of them, but we’re looking every day for these lunatics that are tearing things up.” Although the U.S. promotes itself as a bastion of freedom, the direct violations of the first amendment by the federal government prove that freedom is simply a myth. These threats to free speech and activism are a direct threat to American democracy and are a blatant display of fascism by the current administration.
The Trump administration has confirmed that they will take away visas from any students found participating in pro-Palestian activism on college campuses, and they have asked universities to report international students and faculty who engage in activism. College campuses, which are supposed to be places of education and empowerment, should not be the target of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.
Students who simply have the gall to stand out against genocide should not be targeted and deported for speaking out against the deplorable actions of the American and Isreali governments perpetuated on the people of Palestine.
Historically, university campuses have been open for students to express their political views openly and freely. However, it is clear that when it comes to pro-Palestian activism, those same rights are not guaranteed to students who speak out against genocide and the murder of innocent people.
For over 75 years, Palestinians have been living under brutal occupation and a system of apartheid backed by American tax-payer dollars, and for over two years, Palestinians living in Gaza have been bombed to oblivion.
This genocide has resulted in the death of countless Palestinian men, women and children and the displacement of hundreds of thousands more. On top of that, Israel — the occupier — has launched multiple attacks in the occupied West Bank.
For students to face deportation for the act of standing up against the murder, displacement and genocide of innocent Palestinians is a stab in the back to freedom of speech. It is embarrassing that the U.S. has bankrolled this genocide and occupation and now wishes to silence anyone speaking out in opposition to the death of innocent people.
This country is supposed to be a place where people come to escape persecution for their beliefs. Instead, the American government deports students who speak out against the actions of the government. A country that does not allow for critiques of the government is engaging in facism — there is no debate that these attacks on pro-Palestinian activism are unconstitutional and go against the principles of democracy.
On March 25, 2025, U.S. authorities in plain clothes — in what looked like a kidnapping — detained Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish international student, because she co-wrote an op-ed for the Tufts University student newspaper demanding that the “university acknowledge the Palestinian genocide.”
According to Michael Mathis, a 32-year-old software engineer who captured the arrest on his security cameras, recalls that the arrest “looked like a kidnapping … They approach her and start grabbing her with their faces covered. They’re covering their faces. They’re in unmarked vehicles.”
Ozturk — a Fulbright Scholar in Tufts’ doctoral program for Child Study and Human Development — has been in the U.S. on a valid student visa. She is currently unlawfully detained in a Louisiana detention center. Before she was moved to this detention facility, Ozturk’s lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai, stated, “We are unaware of her whereabouts and have not been able to contact her. No charges have been filed against Rumeysa to date that we are aware of.”
Tufts University put out a statement explaining that they were not aware that the arrest would take place. The University President, Sunil Kumar, explained, “From what we have been told subsequently, the student’s visa status has been terminated, and we seek to confirm whether that information is true.”
For international students like Ozturk, who have not broken any laws, to be kidnapped and detained by ICE agents on college campuses is genuinely disgraceful. The U.S. government and universities alike have failed to protect their students and instead have decided to attack their First Amendment rights.
Whether it be free speech or free press, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution do not only
apply to citizens. Rather, these protections apply to all people residing in the U.S. These blatant attacks on the First Amendment by the Trump administration should concern everyone who enjoys their right to free speech. It is despicable that international students who stand against the murder of innocent Palestinians — whose only crime is existing — face deportation.
The Trump administration alleges that students who engage in pro-Palestine protests are
spreading “anti-Semitism and pro-Hamas sentiment on campus.” With many Jewish activists and groups at the forefront of pro-Palestine protests in the U.S., this claim has been debunked by lawyers and activists alike.
Standing against the death of innocent men, women and children has nothing to do with Judaism. In fact, a large majority of pro-Palestine activism is spearheaded by Jewish people and Jewish organizations, such as Jewish Voice for Peace, who are not okay with genocide being perpetuated on their watch. The perversion of religion to justify genocide is sickening, and it is odd to assume that when someone says to stop killing innocent Palestinians, that they are in turn antisemitic.
Standing against genocide is not anti-Semitic. Standing against genocide should not be political. Standing against genocide should not be controversial. Standing against genocide should not result in deportation. And most of all, standing against genocide should be normal.
From the River to the sea, Palestine will be free.
