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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.”

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

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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.

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SUCCESS: Department of Education Office for Civil Rights States George Washington University May Have Discriminated Based on Palestinian National Origin

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SUCCESS: Department of Education Office for Civil Rights States George Washington University May Have Discriminated Based on Palestinian National Origin

On January 17th, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights and George Washington University (GW) entered into a resolution agreement ending a years-long investigation into possible Title VI violations at the University.

The agreement, which resolved two Title VI complaints—one filed on behalf of Palestinian students by Palestine Legal alleging anti-Palestinian discrimination, and another filed by Israel advocacy group StandWithUs alleging antisemitism—states that GW “may have treated [a pro-Palestine student] differently on the basis of shared ancestry[.]”

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Civil Rights Groups, Emory SJP Address Federal Recognition of Hostile Environment Concerns At Emory University

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Civil Rights Groups, Emory SJP Address Federal Recognition of Hostile Environment Concerns At Emory University

Emory Students for Justice in Palestine (ESJP), the Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Georgia), and Palestine Legal today addressed the announcement and resolution by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The resolution sets out several substantive remedial measures Emory University must take after OCR identified important Title VI compliance concerns at the University for alleged harassment of students based on their Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and Black identities.

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