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Here's a story that seemed like it might be over, but is actually just beginning. As it turns out, while Columbia University was working to get back into Donald Trump's good graces to ensure its federal funding wasn't jeopardized, the school's Knight First Amendment Institute was filing suit against the Trump administration on behalf of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the Middle East Studies Association.
The lawsuit alleges First and Fifth Amendment violations by the Trump administration in its deportation policies, as set out in Executive Orders 14,161 and 14,188. The arrests of people associated with colleges and universities based on their speech is blatantly unconstitutional, creates a climate of fear, and silences people based on their political viewpoints, according to the complaint.
The plaintiffs also include AAUP chapters at Harvard, Rutgers and NYU. Expect others to join them. They are represented by notable human rights lawyer Ahilan Arulanatham, who teaches law at the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law. It seems higher education has gotten the message that they're stronger together and there's safety in numbers. Alternatively, maybe they've gotten the message that if you give Trump an inch, he'll take a mile, so you have no real choice but to make a stand.
The defendants, in addition to Trump and the federal government, are Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and acting director of ICE Todd Lyons. These are the people responsible for the unlawful seizure of Mahmoud Khalil. The suit alleges that, in addition to that and other arrests, the government sent universities lists of names of other students they intend to target. They are going after non-citizen students and faculty who have ever expressed any views supportive of Palestinians. It's a chilling complaint and worth a read. The plaintiffs are students and faculty who are either targets of this policy or are prevented from expressing their views by the government's policies.
The executive order refers to the grounds for inadmissibility under federal law governing terrorist activities. But that law also specifies that lawful speech can't be the basis for exclusion unless notice is first given to Congress that the SOS believes the person's admission would compromise U.S. foreign policy. Obviously, none of those procedures were followed before ICE snatched up Khalil. Rubio has threatened to do more of these arrests under a program called "Catch and Revoke."
The complaint details interviews with AAUP members who asked not to be identified for fear of being targeted and arrested. They talk about having to scrub social media posts and being afraid to mention Israel and Palestine in the courses they teach. Some members were brave enough to identify themselves and share their stories. These are professors who teach international law and human rights law. One is a director of the Center for Palestine Studies at Columbia. One is a history professor at Harvard.
The plaintiffs seek injunctive relief and an order nullifying the XOs. They argue that if these policies are not enjoined, Trump won't stop with non-citizens. They're also seeking attorneys' fees.
One wonders if the lawsuits by the big law firms Trump has targeted can be far behind. The courts and state governments are the last remaining guardrails at the moment. And Trump and Elon Musk and others are busy working to pick them off, too.
It is worth noting that Columbia itself is not a party to this suit, nor to a second, similar suit that was also filed yesterday. Undoubtedly, Trump's instinct will be to strike back by yanking funding again, or somehow otherwise punishing the school. However, this won't kill the suits, since Columbia has no control over them. What it would do, however, is provide additional evidence that Trump & Co. are not focused on national security, but instead on political messaging and score-settling. (L)