Trump's Supercharged Attacks on Student Activism for Palestine Follows 50% Increase in Suppression Last Year

/
Trump's Supercharged Attacks on Student Activism for Palestine Follows 50% Increase in Suppression Last Year

Palestine Legal, a legal aid organization supporting the movement for Palestinian freedom in the U.S., received over 2,000 requests for legal support last year, a 55% increase from 2023, and a 600% increase from 2022. About two-thirds of reports of people targeted for their Palestine-related advocacy that Palestine Legal received in 2024 were campus-related, including over 100 reports at K-12 institutions.

The report comes as the Trump administration threatens and implements sweeping actions against Palestine protestors on college campuses, including deportations, federal investigations, and withholding hundreds of millions in funding from universities.

Read More

Legal Resources for Activists Advocating for Palestine Across the U.S.

/
Legal Resources for Activists Advocating for Palestine Across the U.S.

Palestine Legal has received an unprecedented surge in requests for legal support over the past year and a half, with an additional surge in requests since the start of this year. Activists and community members have been doxxed, investigated, censored, questioned, fired, jailed, and even assaulted simply because of their views, while government officials appear to be mobilizing law enforcement resources against them for their speech activities.

While we work to respond to these requests, here are resources to prepare for and resist backlash against your activism, including contact information for other organizations responding to this unprecedented backlash.

Read More
/ /
, ,

Media Round-Up: Palestine Legal on Trump's attacks on the student movement and higher education since taking office

/
Media Round-Up: Palestine Legal on Trump's attacks on the student movement and higher education since taking office

With reports that the incoming Trump administration is plotting a crackdown on pro-Palestine protests, ranging from federal prosecution of campus demonstrators to deporting international student protesters, several media outlets have reached out to Palestine Legal for comment.

Here is a media roundup of the top 7 stories featuring Palestine Legal’s commentary about the Trump administration’s recent repression from outlets including The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Hill, Democracy Now!, and Columbia Spectator.

Read More

Dima Khalidi in The Nation: Mahmoud Khalil’s Abduction Is a Red Alert for Universities

/
Dima Khalidi in The Nation: Mahmoud Khalil’s Abduction Is a Red Alert for Universities

Palestine Legal Director Dima Khalidi argues that universities’ complete surrender to Trump’s threats and ever-harsher crackdowns on the student movement “will not release them from the administration’s crosshairs. (Columbia has learned that lesson 400 million times over).” Schools across America have a choice: Defend their students against Trump or be complicit in his crimes.

Read More
/ /
, , ,

Palestine Legal Condemns Unlawful DHS Detention of Columbia Palestinian Activist Mahmoud Khalil, Demands Schools Refuse to Collaborate with ICE

/
Palestine Legal Condemns Unlawful DHS Detention of Columbia Palestinian Activist Mahmoud Khalil, Demands Schools Refuse to Collaborate with ICE

"Abducting and detaining students over their political ideology represents a significant escalation in the McCarthyite attacks on the student movement for Palestinian liberation.”

Read More
/ /
,
, , ,

Palestine Legal: Trump's Executive Order Aims to Punish Protests of Israel's Genocide in Gaza, Promotes Anti-Palestinian Discrimination

/
Palestine Legal: Trump's Executive Order Aims to Punish Protests of Israel's Genocide in Gaza, Promotes Anti-Palestinian Discrimination

Yesterday, Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting university students who participate in protests or speech activity critical of Israel's genocide.

Read More
/ /
,
, , ,

As Trump Takes Office, Punishments for Pro-Palestine Protests Escalate

/
As Trump Takes Office, Punishments for Pro-Palestine Protests Escalate

With reports that the Trump administration is plotting a whole-of-government crackdown on pro-Palestine campus demonstrators and other orders that could devastate higher education, Palestine Legal has received a recent wave of reports from students across the country confronting a new level of repression for pro-Palestine protests.

Read More
/ /
,
, , , , ,