In Court Filing, Trump Administration Blasts AAUP Lawsuit Against Immigration Orders

Lawyers for the federal government asked a judge to reject a lawsuit from the Harvard chapter of the American Association of University Professors, arguing that the group misapplied the First Amendment in their condemnation of Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestine speech.

The Trump administration filed their opposition on Monday afternoon, just over two weeks after the Harvard AAUP chapter — alongside the national AAUP, two other university chapters from Rutgers and New York University, and the nonprofit Middle East Studies Association — filed their initial lawsuit. The plaintiffs alleged that federal immigration enforcement policies are targeting noncitizens for expressing pro-Palestine views, violating the First Amendment.

“The agencies’ policy, in other words, is accomplishing its purpose: it is terrorizing students and faculty for their exercise of First Amendment rights in the past, intimidating them from exercising those rights now, and silencing political viewpoints that the government disfavors,” the plaintiffs wrote in their initial lawsuit.

In response, the federal government wrote in a 27-page filing that the AAUP’s lawsuit “rests on a basic misunderstanding of the First Amendment.”

“They conflate the fact that the First Amendment applies at all to aliens, with the First Amendment applying in full to them,” the government lawyers wrote, arguing that immigrant’s right to free speech is less comprehensive than that of citizens.

The AAUP’s suit asks the district court to prevent the federal government from enforcing an “ideological-deportation policy,” which they say hinders the First Amendment rights of international students and faculty.

But in its filing, the Trump administration denied that any such policy exists.

“Plaintiffs instead cobble together this policy from certain public statements, two Executive Orders, and Plaintiffs’ view of a handful of recent immigration enforcement proceedings,” government lawyers wrote.

The AAUP’s lawsuit comes on the back of rising threats against international students, faculty, and researchers from the federal government.

A January executive order instructed universities nationwide to monitor international students for participation in “pro-jihadist protests” and came after threats by the president to cancel student protestors’ visas.

These threats came to a head over the next two months, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that the Trump administration canceled visas for hundreds of students — often without explanation — in late March. At Harvard, twelve students and recent alumni have had their visas revoked within the last two weeks, according to announcements from the Harvard International Office.

In response, the HIO announced that it has begun checking the status of Harvard students’ visas daily. So far, no students have been deported.

The AAUP’s suit asks for the district court to stop the federal government from arresting, detaining, or deporting any noncitizen student or faculty across the country.

In response, government lawyers wrote that the AAUP lacks standing to ask for an injunction covering all noncitizen students and faculty, many of whom are not members of the AAUP.

“Plaintiffs do not allege the “policy” they identify has been enforced against any of their members,” lawyers for the federal government wrote. “Nor do they allege that it has actually been enforced against anyone whom their members know — let alone wish to hear from, or associate with.”

—Staff writer Matan H. Josephy can be reached matan.josephy@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @matanjosephy.

—Staff writer Laurel M. Shugart can be reached at laurel.shugart@thecrimson.com. Follow them on X @laurelmshugart.