Prominent actors, artists, academics, activists and leaders in the trade union movement have launched an open letter calling for the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to immediately cease its attacks against immigrant students and the unalienable, constitutional right to free speech.
Signatories include actors Susan Sarandon, Sara Ramirez, and Marissa Bode; artists Lauren Jauregui, Alana Hadid, and Samia Halaby; scholars Dr. Judith Butler, Dr. Robin D.G. Kelley, Dr. Etienne Balibar, and Dr. Vijay Prashad; Writer and activist Derecka Purnell; Author Susan Abulhawa; trade union leaders Brandon Mancilla, Director of United Auto Workers Region 9A, Carl Rosen, General President of United, Electrical Radio and Machine Workers, as well as dozens of other labor leaders; organizers Manolo de los Santos, Executive Director of the People’s Forum, Brian Becker, National Director of the Answer Coalition, and Mohammed Nabulsi, an organizer with The Palestinian Youth Movement .
The letter is being launched just days after Palestinian activist and recent Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil was arrested and detained by agents with the US Department of Homeland Security in New York City. Khalil is currently in an ICE detention center in Louisiana. Under a false pretense of combating anti-semitism, the Department of Justice investigations are part of a broad and multi-pronged attack on both the movement for Palestine and the First Amendment. The Trump administration and its recently launched “Anti-Semitism Task Force” has promised to carry out more arrests, revocations of visas, deportations, and even criminal charges in an attempt to silence dissent.
The letter, published by the People’s Forum for all to sign-on reads: “Universities are supposed to be spaces that promote intellectual curiosity, exploration, and the free exchange of ideas, all of which are fundamental for the functioning of democracy. The presence of Department of Justice agents and immigration enforcement officers on campuses across the country sends a clear message – unless we act now, cherished First Amendment rights will no longer be protected on college campuses.
We, the signers below, condemn the vicious attacks against free speech and the targeting of immigrant students, particularly student activists and protestors. Throughout history, the repression of student movements has always been the harbinger of a broader assault against basic democratic and civil rights for the rest of the nation. Now is the time that we must stand together to protect our students, our right to education, and our constitutional right to Free Speech.”
The Shut It Down For Palestine coalition has called for a rally on Wednesday, March 12, at 11am in Foley Square to take place during Mahmoud Khalil’s court conference.
The full letter can be found at www.peoplesforum.org/stand-with-students
