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Stop the wrongful removal of students' visas for speaking out

Across the United States, students have faced detention and deportation simply for exercising their right to protest.

Many of these students had spoken out against the genocide in Gaza and the U.S government's role in supporting the Israeli authorities' ongoing apartheid and illegal occupation against Palestinians.

Earlier this year, US immigration authorities wrongfully arrested and detained at least ten students. All are known to have been targeted for using their right to protest.

These incidents are part of a broader, deeply troubling crackdown on student activism and dissent, and part of a broader erosion of civic space, a pattern we are also seeing echoed on campuses here in the UK.

This is a warning to the world: our hard-won rights can be lost overnight.

We refuse to remain silent in the face of the Trump administration’s human rights abuses. The right to protest, organise, speak out must be defended - across borders.

All students should feel like they belong on their campus and are free to be themselves without being harassed or singled out.

Email the US Secretary of Homeland Security to demand US authorities stop the wrongful removal of students’ visas and residency status and respect their human rights.

215 emails have been sent. Help us get to 5,000

Email the US Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, now.

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Target: US Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem

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Dear US Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem,

Dear Secretary Noem,

I am writing regarding the recent trend of targeting foreign students for repression, detention and potential deportation for either their activities in protests, speaking out in support of Palestinian rights and against the ongoing war crimes and genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip, or due to their backgrounds.

All students, faculty and staff have the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and due process and to be free from discrimination. However, following the detention of Mahmoud Khalil on 8 March and the revocation of his residency status, the US government revoked the student visas of seven identified individuals and is seeking to revoke the residency status of at least two other students who protested or spoke up about the conflict in the occupied Gaza Strip under an obscure and rarely used provision of immigration law. At least 1300 additional students are known to have had their visas revoked.

However, many of these students never received notice of the revocation, nor did they participate in any protest or expressive activity on campus. Some students may have been targeted due to having committed minor crimes such as traffic violations. According to a lawsuit filed on behalf of students, many were targeted because of their country of origin, particularly those from African, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and Asian background.

These repressive tactics and the summary revocation of people’s immigration status, whether due to their speech and protest activities or their country of origin, demonstrate an utter lack of respect for their human rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, due process and to be free from discrimination.

I urge you to restore the visas and immigration status of these students and visitors, release all students from immigration detention, refrain from deporting any of them, and end the targeting of students based on their immigration statuses and for exercising their human rights.

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