Success: Justice System Says ‘No More’ to Politicized Targeting of International Students

Target: William Burck, Attorney for Harvard University

Goal: Commend legal wins for international students and the universities providing them an education.

The crackdown on protests and assaults on freedom of speech in America have been well-documented, including in this ForceChange petition. Students and universities have been a particular point of attack, as the administration has sought to punish both groups. Recent court orders, however, have helped neutralize this attempted suppression of the values for which Americans have fought and died.

The administration wrought havoc in April when it summarily wiped out the records of thousands of individuals currently in the country on student visas. The maneuver essentially rendered these students powerless to defend themselves against arbitrary arrests and deportations. While individual cases worked themselves through the courts, a federal judge brought the hammer down on the whole questionable process. The order mandated the administration conduct reviews and due process before it tried to revoke the legal status of any student. Officials were also barred from detaining and arresting foreign students without cause.

The administration has also busied itself attacking educational institutions with high populations of international students, most notably Harvard University. Because of its supposed dissatisfaction with campus protests, the administration suddenly announced that Harvard no longer had the ability to enroll foreign students. And students already attending the university would be forced to transfer to another institution. Harvard’s president said of the action, “The revocation continues a series of government actions to retaliate against Harvard for our refusal to surrender our academic independence and to submit to the federal government’s illegal assertion of control over our curriculum, our faculty, and our student body.” When Harvard took the case to the courts, a judge once again put on the breaks and put the administration on notice by issuing a temporary restraining order against these actions.

Sign the petition below to thank one of the legal minds responsible for defending academic freedom.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Mr. Burck,

As one of the nation’s foremost conservative legal scholars and as someone who has defended Trump administration associates, you cannot and should not be accused of bias. Along with your colleague in the Harvard University case, you are known for your independence and impartiality. This framework makes your decision to defend Harvard and the one-third of its student population who are based internationally particularly consequential.

Thank you for mounting a strong and steady case for freedom of speech and freedom to teach. Your successes will hopefully set a precedent that affirmatively validates academic liberty and holistic learning opportunities.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Mandala