Rutgers Faculty Joins First Amendment Lawsuit Against Trump

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — The Rutgers faculty union announced Tuesday it joined a lawsuit against the Trump administration for trying to deport international college students who joined protests in the past year — particularly protests in support of Gaza/Palestine and against Israel.

The lawsuit, which you can read here, was filed Tuesday in federal court. The Rutgers AAUP-AFT, which is the union representing full-time faculty, graduate workers and others at Rutgers, joined as a plaintiff. So have the faculty unions at Harvard and NYU.

The suit was filed against President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristie Noem, among others.

The lawsuit alleges the federal government is violating the First Amendment by stifling free speech that Americans, college students or otherwise, have a right to. In the past month, ICE has arrested and detained several people on U.S. colleges and universities after they engaged in lawful free speech and protest, both protected by the U.S. Constitution.

A 21-year-old Columbia University junior is suing the Trump administration, claiming the federal government is trying to deport her because she participated in pro-Palestinian protests on campus. The student is Yunseo Chung, a legal permanent resident of the United States who moved to this country from South Korea when she was 7 years old.

Chung said she joined a demonstration on campus on March 5 to protest what she believed to be excessive punishments meted out by the Columbia administration to student protesters.

Days later, she said the federal government began "a series of unlawful efforts" to arrest, detain and remove her from the country because she participated in the protest. A federal law enforcement official told Chung her permanent resident status was being revoked and a warrant for her arrest was issued on March 8. Then, on March 13, the lawsuit says ICE agents executed search warrants at two residences on Columbia's campus, including Chung’s dorm room.

ICE agents are seeking to detain Chung, her lawyers said. She is now in hiding. Chung's lawsuit comes less than two weeks after Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia graduate and pro-Palestinian activist was detained by the Trump administration earlier this month.

Rutgers AAUP-AFT vice president Rebecca Givan said what the Trump administration is doing should scare everyone.

"The chilling effect is very real for all of us,” she said.

"The Trump administration is going after international scholars and students who speak their minds about Palestine, but make no mistake: they won't stop there," said Rutgers professor Todd Wolfson. "They'll come next for those who teach the history of slavery or who provide gender-affirming health care or who research climate change or who counsel students about their reproductive choices. We all have to draw a line together — as the old labor movement slogan says: an injury to one is an injury to all.”

Columbia Student Sues Trump Administration To Prevent Deportation (Tuesday)