The Trump administration is deliberately targeting international students at universities across the country on the basis of their political speech.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have already unlawfully detained several international students who were legally in the United States on student visas in order to pursue studies at universities and colleges.

This is a gross violation of the free speech and right to assemble provisions of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and a terror tactic of a repressive police state.

“Amendment I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

The New York Times rightly points out that “Lawful permanent residents are also protected by the Constitution, including free speech and due process rights, which could set up a major legal challenge. Lawyers for those whose student visas have been revoked have similarly challenged the administration on constitutional grounds.”

The revocation of visas and detentions also seem to be conducted without any due process, potentially violating the Fourth and Sixth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

“The Trump administration is trying to deport pro-Palestinian students and academics who are legally in the United States, a new front in its clash with elite schools over what it says is their failure to combat antisemitism,” according to The New York Times.

“The White House asserts that these moves — many of which involve immigrants with visas and green cards — are necessary because those taken into custody threaten national security. But some legal experts say that the administration is trampling on free speech rights and using lower-level laws to crack down on activism.”

The New York Times reports that “Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the State Department under his direction had revoked the visas of roughly 300 people and was continuing to revoke visas daily. He did not specify how many of those people had taken part in campus protests or acted to support Palestinians but said ‘there’s a lot of them now.'”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is actively and willfully directing this unconstitutional policy and has sought to justify his actions with statements to the news media.

“Immigration officials are known to have pursued at least nine people in apparent connection to this effort since the start of March.”

This policy is unconstitutional and an abuse of power by Secretary of State and the Department of Homeland Security.

The outrageous policy also violates the principle of academic freedom, which are long-standing norms in the United States, even if not rooted in the U.S. Constitution.

Selig, Kate. “What We Know About the Detentions of Student Protesters.” The New York Times (27 March 2025).

The New York Times has also published video of ICE’s detention of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student at Tufts University.