Crackdown on Pro-Palestine Free Speech
August 3, 2026
Sign up here to receive future Gaza First Amendment Alerts directly in your inbox. Escalating Attacks on Independent Media Upon his return to the United States on July 10, journalist Max Blumenthal was stopped at Dulles International Airport by Custom
July 2, 2026
Sign up here to receive future Gaza First Amendment Alerts directly in your inbox. U.S. Re-Sanctions UN Human Rights Expert Amid Legal Back and Forth On May 26, 2026, the U.S. government once again added United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca
April 1, 2026
Sign up here to receive future Gaza First Amendment Alerts directly in your inbox. Leqaa Kordia Finally Released from Detention On March 17, New Jersey resident Leqaa Kordia was released from immigration detention after more than a full year in confinement in
March 17, 2026
New Jersey resident Leqaa Kordia has finally been released from immigration detention after more than a full year in confinement in Texas. She can now return home as she continues to fight the government’s deportation case against her. Leqaa was
March 11, 2026
Twenty-one immigrant rights, free expression, and civil liberties groups have co-signed a new letter, organized by Defending Rights & Dissent, to the Department of Homeland Security calling for the immediate release of detained pro-Palestine protester Leqaa Kordia. Amnesty International, the
March 6, 2026
Leqaa Kordia has been jailed for nearly a year, despite a judge twice ordering her release, simply for protesting the genocide that took the lives of nearly 200 of her relatives. A 33-year-old Palestinian woman who has lived in the
February 26, 2026
Sign up here to receive future Gaza First Amendment Alerts directly in your inbox. Wisconsin State Assembly Steps Closer to Codifying IHRA Antisemitism Definition Last week, the Wisconsin State Assembly voted to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working
February 10, 2026
The following statement can be attributed to Chip Gibbons, Policy Director of Defending Rights & Dissent, in response to news that deportation proceedings against Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk have been terminated: “The Trump administration arrested, detained, and attempted to deport
January 26, 2026
The Gaza First Amendment Alert is going monthly. After over a year as a biweekly newsletter, we’ve decided that it makes sense to convert to a monthly publishing schedule. If that changes, we’ll let you know. We are continuing to
November 21, 2025
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November 7, 2025
Sign up here to receive future Gaza First Amendment Alerts directly in your inbox. U.S. Detains British Journalist Over Political Views Since October 26, the U.S. government has held British journalist Sami Hamdi in immigration detention. Hamdi had obtained a visa to
October 23, 2025
Sign up here to receive future Gaza First Amendment Alerts directly in your inbox. Third Circuit Court of Appeals Hears Trump Administration Latest Legal Bid to Deport Mahmoud Khalil On Tuesday October 21, a three-judge panel from the Third Circuit Court of
October 2, 2025
Sign up here to receive future Gaza First Amendment Alerts directly in your inbox. In Landmark Ruling, Judge Delivers Stunning Rebuke to Trump-Rubio Deportation Drive On September 29, 2025, U.S. District Judge William G. Young found the Secretary of State Rubio and
September 30, 2025
Boston, MA – In a new ruling issued today, U.S. District Judge William Young has denounced the Trump administration’s arrest and efforts to deport pro-Palestine protesters as a “truly scandalous and unconstitutional suppression of free speech.” Defending Rights & Dissent
September 18, 2025
Sign up here to receive future Gaza First Amendment Alerts directly in your inbox. Immigration Judge Orders Mahmoud Khalil Deported to Syria or Algeria Immigration judge Jamee Comans has ruled that Mahmoud Khalil omitted information on his application for lawful
August 13, 2025
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July 23, 2025
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July 17, 2025
Defending Rights & Dissent Policy Director Chip Gibbons appeared on the popular political talk show The Majority Report today for a live discussion about the Trump administration’s crackdown on free speech. Speaking to host Emma Vigeland, Chip discussed the arrest
July 10, 2025
Sign up here to receive future Gaza First Amendment Alerts. Calls to Denaturalize Democratic Mayoral Nominee Over Support for Palestine, Democratic Socialist Politics Grow In a surprise upset, New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani defeated by a wide margin former
July 8, 2025
Defending Rights & Dissent has submitted an amicus brief to support the plaintiffs in Khalil v Columbia. Eight students, led by Mahmoud Khalil, are suing Columbia University to prevent the University from turning their disciplinary records over to the House
June 24, 2025
Trump At War On the evening of Saturday June 21, Donald Trump announced via social media the U.S. dropped bombs on three nuclear sites in Iran. Later that evening, he gave a televised address, describing the strikes as “massive, precision
June 20, 2025
U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz has ordered the Trump administration to release Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil on bail after more than three months of unjust confinement. Khalil was arrested on March 8 at his home in New York
June 13, 2025
U.S. government prosecutors told New Jersey District Judge Michael Farbiarz that they would not be releasing detained Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil today, despite Judge Farbriarz’s determination on Wednesday that detaining Khalil on the basis of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s
June 5, 2025
Mahmoud Khalil Receives Partial Victory On Wednesday May 25, 2025, U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz made a ruling on Mahmoud Khalil’s request for a preliminary injunction. As part of Khalil’s federal habeas petition arguing his detention is illegal, Khalil
May 16, 2025
Trump-Rubio Deportation Drive Suffers Further Setbacks The Trump administration’s targeting of permanent residents and visa holders for retaliatory immigration process has hit further setbacks. Two more federal judges granted bail to two visa holders challenging their detention pursuant to a