AGs Urge Court to Block Policy Targeting Students and Faculty Based on Political Expression
Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief supporting a challenge to the Trump Administration’s “Ideological Deportation Policy,” which targets and punishes noncitizens with lawful status, especially college students and faculty, who express political beliefs with which the administration disagrees.
In their amicus brief, filed in American Association of University Professors, et al., v. Marco Rubio, et al. in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, the coalition urges the court to block the administration’s policy, which it implemented following and pursuant to several immigration-related executive orders. The attorneys general argue that it violates the First Amendment and irreparably harms colleges and universities, public health and safety and freedom of religious worship.
“This policy blatantly disregards the First Amendment and the founding principle of protecting free speech in our country,” Raoul said. “It harms educational institutions, where free expression of political speech must be protected to allow students to learn from and engage with diverse viewpoints. These students and educators are in the country lawfully and should not have to live in fear that their speech will result in deportation.”
The administration’s “Ideological Deportation Policy” is based on two executive orders that direct federal agencies to vet foreign nationals seeking to enter the U.S. based on ideological grounds rather than on direct safety threats. These orders further direct federal agencies to investigate, detain and deport noncitizen students and faculty who engage in political speech with which the administration disagrees.
The administration has revoked more than 800 visas of noncitizen students, visitors and residents, including many revocations based on protected expression. The removal of lawful immigration status leaves such individuals vulnerable to arrest, detention and deportation. Due to the breadth and ambiguity of what speech the administration deems prohibited, the coalition argues the policy will lead noncitizen residents to limit and censor their political and religious expression, research and academic conclusions.
Moreover, as a result of the administration’s policy, some colleges and universities have already witnessed significant drops in applications and prospective enrollment of international students for the 2025-2026 school year.
The coalition also describes how the administration’s policy will harm public safety and public health. Due to the fear of deportation caused by the policy, noncitizens could avoid cooperating with law enforcement and reporting crime. Additionally, the policy will harm public health, as the coalition states heavily depend on noncitizen healthcare workers. More than one million immigrants work in healthcare nationwide.
As noncitizen residents contribute substantially to the economic, cultural and intellectual vitality of the coalition states, the coalition urges the court to block the policy, especially due to the policy’s irreparable harm to the states and public interest.
Joining Raoul in filing the brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
