International Students are Under Attack!

It started with Mahmoud Khalil, Badar Khan Suri, and Rümeysa Öztürk. Now, hundreds of international students, many of them activists (specifically pro-Palestinian activists), have been snatched off the streets by ICE agents and have had their student visas revoked. Though the Trump administration claims that they are arresting and deporting international students due to a need to "secure our borders and keep our community safe" (in the words of State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce), it is clear that the real reason behind why they are doing this is that this administration is attempting to silence the voices of anybody that disagrees with them so that their narratives are the only ones that people are allowed to hear. Of course, these recent crackdowns on international students are also motivated by xenophobia, racism, and fear of the other. 

What has been happening to international students as of late is terrifying and completely unacceptable. Although not all of the students who have been arrested and deported thus far have been politically active, it is clear that the ones who have been politically active have been targeted, in part, for their activism. This silencing of political opposition should worry everybody, as attacking activists is a key part of the ideology of fascism. We should all be talking to our friends, family, and community members about the threat that silencing activists poses.

Free Mahmoud Khalil now! Free our political prisoners now! Free all wrongly arrested international students now! Say no to borders, and say no to ICE!