Urgent Action - USA: Stop Targeting Foreign Students for Protest

Since the 8 March arrest and arbitrary detention of Mahmoud Khalil for his role in student protests at Columbia University – at least nine other students were similarly targeted for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly. Thousands more had their visas revoked without justification. US authorities are weaponizing immigration enforcement through the revocation of visas or status and deporting people who protested the ongoing genocide in Gaza. We demand US authorities stop the retaliatory or unjustified revocation of students’ visas and residency status and respect their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, due process and freedom from discrimination.

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Dear Secretary Kristi Noem, I am alarmed to learn about the ongoing crackdown on foreign students who are simply exercising their right to freedom of expression and assembly. As you are already aware, all students, faculty and staff should be able to exercise their human rights and be free from discrimination. It is distressing that the US government has targeted a number of students who protested or spoke out about the conflict in the occupied Gaza Strip under an obscure and rarely used provision of immigration law. Courtroom testimony revealed that immigration authorities relied on third party doxxing websites to target these students. Federal courts have stepped in to order the release of those students and questioned the US government’s use of this law as a violation of their right free speech. At least 6000 students are known to have had their visas revoked as of August 2025. However, many of these students never received notice of the revocation, nor did they participate in any protest or expressive activity on campus. Some students were targeted due to having committed minor crimes such as traffic violations. According to a lawsuit filed on behalf of students, many were targeted because of their country of origin, particularly those from African, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and Asian backgrounds. During a recent trial where the judge ruled that the government’s targeting of international students for deportation due to their pro-Palestinian advocacy was unconstitutional, international faculty and staff testified how the US government’s targeting chilled their rights to engage in protests on campus or engage in discussions about certain topics for fear of being reported, detained and deported. These repressive tactics and the summary revocation of people’s immigration status, whether due to their speech and protest activities or their country of origin, demonstrate an utter lack of respect for their human rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, due process and to be free from discrimination. I therefore urge you to restore the visas and immigration status of these students and visitors, release any remaining students or protesters from immigration detention, refrain from deporting any of them, and end the targeting of students based on their immigration statuses and for exercising their human rights. Yours sincerely,
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Urgent Action – USA: Stop Targeting Foreign Students for Protest

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