• 'For international students like myself, it’s particularly difficult because we are dependent on our visa status and our universities. So far, they haven’t been willing to support us,' Thomas-Johnson tells Anadolu

ISTANBUL

University campuses across the US are becoming increasingly hostile to free speech, particularly targeting pro-Palestinian activism, as President Donald Trump’s administration follows through on threats to deport non-citizen protesters, one international student affected by the ongoing crackdown says.

As student-led demands for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza were roiling colleges and universities across the country last year, Trump pledged to deport any foreign students involved. Now, students — particularly those holding international visas — are treading carefully, and universities are advising foreign students to avoid travel amid fears they may be barred from re-entry.

Among those caught in the crosshairs is Cornell University, where student activists have been targeted. Anadolu spoke to Amandla Thomas-Johnson, a journalist and PhD candidate in Cornell’s Department of Literatures in English, whose academic focus is on literary activism and global solidarities.

Thomas-Johnson is one of several students whose education has been disrupted after exercising their right to protest. He was suspended following a September 2024 student-led protest during a campus career fair featuring Boeing and L3Harris, companies linked to supplying Israel with weapons used in the ongoing war on Gaza.

“These are arms companies who supply Israel with the jets, the bombs, the parts it needs to carry out its genocide,” he told Anadolu.

In the weeks following the protest, Cornell’s administration charged Thomas-Johnson with violence and complicity in organizing the demonstration, allegations he denies.

“There was an absence of due process,” he said, explaining that he was not shown any evidence until after his suspension. Video footage later revealed he was simply “standing in the room shouting,” without causing any damage.

Despite this, he was forced to fight to clear his record, a battle he said carries serious consequences for his future as an international student.

International students on edge amid visa threats

Trump's crackdown intensified with the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student at Columbia University, whose green card was revoked earlier this month over his activism.

The US president has branded Khalil a “radical foreign pro-Hamas” student engaged in “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity.” His diatribe came with a warning for fellow foreign academics who have engaged in pro-Palestinian activism: His detention is “the first arrest of many to come.”

Thomas-Johnson, a dual citizen of the UK and Trinidad and Tobago, described the unique challenges international students face under Trump’s policies.

“For international students like myself, it’s particularly difficult because we are dependent on our visa status and our universities. So far, they haven’t been willing to support us,” he said.

He stressed that the uncertainty affects students across nationalities: “Trump’s order has everyone afraid, whether you’re Canadian, British, Palestinian, or Trinidadian.”

While his British passport offers relative ease in securing a visa, Thomas-Johnson noted that students from countries facing US travel restrictions are especially vulnerable. He mentioned friends from Sudan who must renew their visas every six months, with no guarantees.

Despite the risks, Thomas-Johnson remains resolute.

“We believe strongly in what’s happening in Palestine,” he said. “This country has been complicit in the genocide that has been taking place by Israel against the Palestinian people, and we’re still going to try and speak out as much as we can.”

With Trump tightening control over universities, Thomas-Johnson sees legal challenges ahead. He said it’s possible the case could reach the Supreme Court but expressed little confidence in the outcome.

“The Supreme Court is stacked in Trump’s favor … it’s possible they might find in favor of Trump.,” he said, adding that international students “are never fully safe with our nationality and passports.”

He admitted he fears deportation or worse. “I don’t want to be deported or put in Guantanamo,” he said. “It doesn’t mean we stop speaking out.”

Referencing the crackdown on campus, he described Cornell as “very securitized,” with “a lot of surveillance,” noting: “Campus is not even a sort of safe space for us. We have undercover police coming onto campus. We were informed of that just last week.”

Lawsuit challenges Trump crackdown on free speech

The Trump administration’s efforts to stifle campus activism have prompted legal action. On Monday, a Cornell professor and two students filed a lawsuit against Trump, alleging violations of their First Amendment rights.

The plaintiffs, professor Mukoma Wa Ngugi and students Momodou Taal and Sriram Parasurama, are pro-Palestinian activists. Taal, who has been targeted by Zionist groups, was reportedly named for deportation and identified as a key target under a potential Trump executive order.

Thomas-Johnson backed the lawsuit, arguing: “Their rights have been violated … by this executive order. Trying to deport students exercising free speech is unconstitutional.”

The lawsuit seeks to block the order, citing fears of government retaliation against those supporting Palestinian rights.

Thomas-Johnson also criticized Cornell’s lack of support for academic freedom. “The current administration wants to shut down progressive thought on campuses,” he said.

He pointed to broader efforts to dismantle critical departments, adding: “We’ve seen the Trump administration demand that Columbia University shut down its department of Middle Eastern, Asian, and African Studies.”

Federal officials recently ordered Columbia to place its Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies department under academic receivership for at least five years, citing anti-Semitism allegations. Conditions included new anti-Semitism definitions and bans on face coverings. The move came after the withdrawal of $400 million in federal funding.

Thomas-Johnson criticized the demand, stating: “So it is basically said to Columbia University, 'You cannot study people of color. You cannot study black people, you cannot study Turkish people, you cannot study Arabs, you cannot study Chinese people. We want you just to study European people, white people … Those other people are not worthy of your attention’.”

Despite his disappointment in university leadership, Thomas-Johnson expressed hope in the solidarity shown by students, faculty, and some administrators.

“I have faith in them to put pressure on universities like Cornell to really stand up to these bullies in the White House who want to destroy everything,” he said.