Dear colleague,
A federal judge has put sharp restrictions on the Trump administration’s ability to punish noncitizen scholars for pro-Palestinian advocacy as the result of a First Amendment lawsuit in which Rutgers AAUP-AFT and the national AAUP were plaintiffs. Judge William Young’s court order in AAUP v. Rubio is one of the most important legal challenges yet against Trump’s war on free speech and higher education.
We’re proud that our unions at Rutgers and nationally joined this fight, among our many other battles to protect our students, our communities, and ourselves. We thank our members who participated in this case as “declarants” describing how their rights had been violated—especially noncitizen members who put themselves at risk by doing so. Your courage and determination are models for others to follow.
- Read Judge Young’s order
- Read a Knight First Amendment Institute press release about the case
- Read the New York Times coverage of the case
Judge Young’s decision late last year determined that the Trump administration’s policy of detaining and threatening to deport noncitizens for political speech was a violation of the First Amendment; he stated specifically that all residents of the United States, regardless of citizenship status, have First Amendment rights. Young’s follow-up order yesterday revealed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio personally approved deportation orders against five students, including Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of the pro-Palestine encampment at Columbia in spring 2024 who was detained in the early days of the Trump presidency.
As the Knight Institute states, “In any district court case in which a noncitizen who was an AAUP…member during the litigation challenges an adverse change to their immigration status, that action will be presumed to have been taken in retribution for that individual’s constitutionally protected speech, unless the government demonstrates otherwise by clear and convincing evidence.”
This decision won’t end Trump’s threats to our rights, but it’s a step in the right direction, and it wouldn’t have happened if unions and allies hadn’t worked together to resist the administration’s attacks. As we begin bargaining for new contracts this semester, we can celebrate this legal victory for the values of freedom and democracy that we are fighting for, at Rutgers and in our country.
In solidarity,
Becky, HP, and Cathy
Rebecca Givan, President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Heather Pierce, President, Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union
Catherine Monteleone, MD, President, AAUP-BHSNJ
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