Check out @knightcolumbia.org's post-trial brief in AAUP v. Rubio, which documents the Trump admin's efforts to arrest, detain, and deport students and scholars for their pro-Palestinian advocacy and explains why this ideological deportation policy violates the First Amendment. More below.

@knightcolumbia.org has filed an almost-200-page brief describing evidence presented during trial in our AAUP v. Rubio case challenging the Trump admin’s policy of arresting, detaining, and deporting noncitizen faculty & students for their pro-Palestinian advocacy. knightcolumbia.org/content/post...

In Boston, the most consequential and far-reaching trial of the second Trump Presidency has been set in motion: A.A.U.P. v. Rubio, which challenges the Administration’s systematic campaign to arrest, detain, and deport pro-Palestinian student protesters.

This has been the first major trial of Trump’s second term. Over eight days of witness testimony, it uncovered a wealth of new detail about the ideological-deportation policy and its effects on college and university campuses across the country. #AAUPvRubio

This morning we wrapped up our trial in AAUP v. Rubio--our challenge to the Trump admin's ideological deportation policy--with powerful closing statements by my @knightcolumbia.org colleague @ramyakrishnan.bsky.social and Alex Conlon of Sher Tremonte.

📍TODAY at 10:00am ET – We're set to deliver closing arguments in our AAUP v. Rubio case challenging Trump admin’s policy of arresting, detaining, and deporting noncitizen faculty and students for their pro-Palestinian advocacy. Register to join the livestream: forms.mad.uscourts.gov/seating-sign...

Tomorrow: Closing arguments in AAUP v. Rubio, @aaup.org, @mesa1966.bsky.social, and @knightcolumbia.org's challenge to the Trump admin's policy of deporting students for their pro-Palestinian speech and advocacy. Catch up on the trial here: knightcolumbia.org/content/aaup...

A federal judge in Boston will hear closing arguments tomorrow in AAUP v Rubio, our challenge to the arrests and threatened deportations of foreign students for their pro-Palestinian advocacy. I spoke with @democracynow.org about the case a couple of weeks ago. www.democracynow.org/2025/5/29/ja...

Official Confirms State Department Considered Statements Critical of Israel and U.S. in Revoking Foreign Students’ Visas. Below are highlights from Day 9 of @aaup.org v. Rubio trial. Closing arguments are set for Monday 7/21, 10am ET. Register for livestream below. knightcolumbia.org/content/offi...

“For a long time — and especially the last year and a half — there have been plenty of reasons why people who have engaged in pro-Palestinian speech and advocacy may have felt chilled, particularly on college campuses,” says @georgewang.bsky.social in @theverge.com. www.theverge.com/policy/70772...

"Ideological Deportation": AAUP v. Rubio Trial Challenges Trump Crackdown on Pro-Palestine Students

Today, the 4th Circuit revived @knightcolumbia.org's challenge to the DOJ's sweeping prior restraint on the speech of immigration judges. The ruling has important implications for the scores of lawsuits opposing the Trump admin's unprecedented assault on the rights of federal workers.

A federal judge just ruled that our case seeking to block the Trump administration from carrying out large-scale arrests, detentions, and deportations of noncitizen students and faculty who participate in pro-Palestinian protests can go forward. Read our statement: knightcolumbia.org/content/fede...

Federal court says First Amendment bars government from arresting, deporting foreign students on basis of pro-Palestine advocacy. Important ruling from Judge Young just now in case brought by @aaup.bsky.social @mesa1966.bsky.social @knightcolumbia.org. knightcolumbia.org/content/fede...

A district court in Boston will hear argument on Wednesday in AAUP v. Rubio, a challenge to the arrests, detentions, and threatened deportations of students for their pro-Palestine advocacy. A hugely important First Amendment case. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

My @knightcolumbia.org colleague Ramya Krishnan will be in court in Boston this Wednesday arguing on behalf of @aaup.bsky.social & @mesa1966.bsky.social in their challenge to the Trump admin's ideological-deportation policy. This is the case: knightcolumbia.org/cases/aaup-v...

My @knightcolumbia.org colleague @carriedecell.bsky.social will be arguing this case before the Ninth Circuit tomorrow on behalf of journalists from @elfaroenglish.bsky.social whose phones were hacked with NSO Group's spyware. 12:00 ET, link to audio below. www.newyorker.com/news/news-de...

Brief from the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and more than 80 universities says arrests and deportations of student protesters create a “climate of fear” at universities across the country. This is a big deal—the first time universities have weighed in. knightcolumbia.org/documents/eh...

AP wins. ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show...

Talked to @audiecornish.bsky.social about the ICE roundup of student protesters, the implications for free speech, and how universities should be responding. www.cnn.com/audio/podcas...

Powerful op-ed from Profs. Maya Jasanoff and @kirstenweld.bsky.social. They are members of AAUP-Harvard, one of the groups challenging the Trump admin's policy of targeting noncitizen students and faculty for deportation based on their pro-Palestinian advocacy. www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

It’s sad that it requires courage right now for a university president to file something as straightforward as this, but it does. Thanks to Tufts University President Sunil Kumar for filing this. www.tufts.edu/president/sp...

What happens when AI-powered #surveillance coincides with an authoritarian assault on public education? The transparency needed to answer that question doesn't exist, says staff attorney Jennifer Jones in today’s @teenvogue.com. So we've sued a TX school district. www.teenvogue.com/story/school...

I am very proud to be a declarant in AAUP v Rubio. As @aaup.bsky.social general counsel I hear the harrowing stories of our noncitizen & citizen members & the ways their 1st A rights are trampled upon by the administration’s ideological deportation policies. knightcolumbia.org/documents/n3...

Just filed: Our motion for a preliminary injunction in our lawsuit on behalf of @aaup.bsky.social and @mesa1966.bsky.social challenging the Trump admin's policy of targeting noncitizen faculty and students for deportation based on their pro-Palestinian speech. knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...

BREAKING: The AAUP & chapters @ Harvard, Rutgers, & NYU; & the Middle East Studies Association today filed a lawsuit to block the Trump admin from carrying out arrests, detentions, & deportations of students & faculty who participate in pro-Palestinian protests & protected 1st Amendment activities.

The arrests and deportations of student protesters has created a climate of fear and repression on campuses across the country. Read this complaint--just filed by @aaup.bsky.social, @mesa1966.bsky.social, @knightcolumbia.org--and you'll get a sense of it.

Americans who don’t blink when the government arrests, detains, and threatens to deport student protesters won’t blink when the government does this to other dissenters, which it will.

This morning, the Knight Institute filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s policy of arresting, detaining, and deporting noncitizen students and faculty who participate in pro-Palestinian activism. knightcolumbia.org/content/aaup...

This morning, FACULTY UNIONS led by @aaup.bsky.social sued the Trump administration over the unlawful funding cuts at Columbia. We will not let the federal government use coercion to rob us of academic freedom and critical research! So proud of my union! protectdemocracy.org/wp-content/u...

There's a lot of work to do. We're hiring another Legal Fellow to start ASAP. Please send the best people our way. @knightcolumbia.org knightcolumbia.org/page/legal-f...

Knight Institute Says Threats to Deport Student Protesters Pose “Existential Threat” to Universities Statement from @jameeljaffer.bsky.social below and at link. knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...

This is the dark heart & power of the war on terror discourse: its capacity to magically transform political expression into terrorism, and therefore deny an entire class of speakers the right to speak. We are seeing it play out aggressively in real time right now and it is terrifying.

Legislators should be exposed to the views of their constituents. No one wins if town halls are transformed into echo chambers. Also, the First Amendment prohibits it. Here’s the letter we just sent to Speaker Mike Johnson. knightcolumbia.org/documents/t1...

The government has increasingly invoked an overly broad law known as the Foreign Agents Registration Act to stigmatize, stifle, and sanction viewpoints it doesn’t like. We're asking the court to ensure FARA isn't used to violate the First Amendment.

The White House’s ban on the AP violates the public forum doctrine and is a threat to the public’s right to hear unbiased reporting on the president

NEWS: @knightcolumbia.org & @aclu.org urge court to construe Foreign Agent Registration Act narrowly, say overbroad law has chilling effects on journalists, media organizations, and nonprofits. Read staff attorney @georgewang.bsky.social's statement: knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...

Check out @knightcolumbia.org & @aclu.org's just-filed amicus brief in support of Dr. Sue Mi Terry in a case raising important questions about the scope of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...

Just filed: @knightcolumbia.org brief in support of the Associated Press: "The right to access public institutions without being required to kowtow to authority is a hallmark of democracy" knightcolumbia.org/content/knig...

USCIS is proposing to extend social media disclosure requirements adopted by the State Dep’t in 2019 to millions more applicants for immigration benefits each year: public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-03492.pdf

From Gods to Google is now out in the Yale Law Journal Following First Amendment challenges to tech regulations? We tell a different story of the caselaw: not (just) Lochnerean but the output of this Court’s religious speakers cases www.yalelawjournal.org/feature/from...

Trump White House Seizing Control of Press Pool Ramps Up Onslaught on Press Freedom, Knight Institute Says. More from @jameeljaffer.bsky.social & @katiefallow.bsky.social below. knightcolumbia.org/content/trum...

"You can purge a website of the words climate change, but that doesn’t mean climate change goes away." (Good NYT story about one of two legal actions we filed this morning.) www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/c...

‼️New project alert: In May, @knightcolumbia.org will hold a private workshop to dig into the complicated questions arising from First Amendment doctrine re: federal funding conditions. Details, and info on submitting statements of interest in participating, here: knightcolumbia.org/blog/call-fo...

Americans’ right to access to ideas from abroad is under fire today, and has been in the past as well. @georgewang.bsky.social explains why Lamont v Postmaster General, a case about communist snail mail, is so important today. Read here: knightcolumbia.org/content/list...

We’re publishing a new essay series, “Regardless of Frontiers: The First Amendment and the Exchange of Ideas Across Borders,” about the changing role of the border, censorship, and the First Amendment.  Watch this 🧵 as the series unfolds.

Excited to chat with @yaleisp.bsky.social tomorrow about my new essay on Lamont v. Postmaster General, published as part of @knightcolumbia.org's "Regardless of Frontiers" series on the First Amendment and the exchange of ideas across borders. Read the piece here: knightcolumbia.org/content/list...

This is a fascinating essay and a deep dive into the first case in which the US Supreme Court struck down a federal statute under the First Amendment. Highly recommend! (This is part of a @knightcolumbia.org's series on speech and/at the border.) knightcolumbia.org/content/list...

New @knightcolumbia.org essay: Americans’ broad rights to access media of their choosing are due in part to a Cold War case, Lamont v Postmaster General. @georgewang.bsky.social shows why a fight about communist snail mail is so relevant in the age of social media. knightcolumbia.org/content/list...