Caltech Must Protect Its Students

Caltech Must Protect Its Students

“All individuals, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, have civil and constitutional rights under U.S. law,” reads https://international.caltech.edu/guidance.

This idea that the Constitution guarantees basic rights to all - freedom of speech, religion, press, and more – has been fundamental to the American creed for centuries. Today, the current US administration is upending this national value by employing chilling tactics to silence speech deemed to “cause a ruckus”: in other words, political and social opinions they find unacceptable. Their first target? Non-citizen university students. Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk was whisked away by masked immigration officials and is pending deportation after she wrote an op-ed calling for her university to divest from supporting Israel’s actions in Gaza. Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil was disappeared in front of his 8-month pregnant wife for participating in pro-Palestinian protests labeled by the government as “pro Hamas.” These are only two examples out of more than 300 and counting. Nationwide, the government is trampling over the 1st Amendment and deporting students whose views they disagree with. No immigration judges, no jury, no due process. Today, it’s non-citizens supporting Palestine: tomorrow, it could be any American with any viewpoint.

Caltech claims to strive to “expand human knowledge and benefit society.” A necessary requisite to accomplish this mission is a community that values intellectual diversity. One where peers challenge the preconceived notions of others, and where all can speak freely. We, thus, have a vested interest in protecting free speech. Over the 24 presidential administrations that have come and gone from Washington DC since the Institute’s inception, Caltech has historically remained politically neutral. But this present crisis transcends politics. It challenges the core assumptions that students make when choosing to entrust the Institute with their time, intellect, energy, and safety. Simply put, this is not a moment in history when Caltech can remain silent.

I call on President Rosenbaum and the Caltech administration to firmly and publicly state that they will not cooperate with unconstitutional federal deportations. They should instead offer legal support to international students, assurance to the community that they recognize what’s at stake, and declare that the Institute stands in favor of free speech. To support its mission as well as the founding promise of America, Caltech must protect its students.

Zarif Azher, Class of 2028