Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is going to bat for the right of non-citizen students to profess support for terrorist organizations that hate America.
Nessel announced on Monday that she joined a coalition of 20 state attorneys general in an amicus brief challenging a so-called “Ideological Deportation Policy” from President Donald Trump, which she claims is against the U.S. Constitution.
The filing targets executive orders issued by Trump in January that focus on combating antisemitism and protecting U.S. citizens from “aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.”
Trump’s EO “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats” directs officials to take action against “foreign nationals who have undermined or seek to undermine the fundamental constitutional rights of the American people, including, but not limited to, our Citizens’ rights to freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion protected by the First Amendment, who preach or call for sectarian violence, the overthrow or replacement of the culture on which our constitutional Republic stands, or who provide aid, advocacy, or support for foreign terrorists.”
In Michigan and elsewhere, pro-Hamas protestors have harassed and assaulted university students amid protests calling for state-funded schools to divest from Israel and companies that support its defense against Islamic terrorists.
The protests have come with flyers calling for “Death to America,” graffiti and other vandalism at the homes of university officials, and plenty of complaints from students and religious organizations, which have triggered federal investigations at the University of Michigan and elsewhere.
Nessel last year filed felony criminal charges against 11 pro-Palestinian protestors she said assaulted police and trespassed during an encampment on campus, but unexpectedly dropped the charges for seven in May over what the Jewish AG described as “baseless and absurd allegations of bias.”
“Taking away student visas because of someone’s political opinions is an embarrassing and unconstitutional stance for this administration to take,” Nessel said in a statement when she joined the coalition against Trump on Monday. “Michigan is home to dozens of incredible colleges and universities that attract students and faculty from across the world. Actions like this don’t just silence debate on campus – they threaten everyone’s First Amendment rights by discouraging open discussion and the exchange of ideas. I join my colleagues in urging the Court to uphold the right to freedom of speech.”
The multistate amicus brief involves the case Stanford Daily Publishing Corporation v. Rubio, filed by Stanford University’s student newspaper against Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
The lawsuit alleges international student journalists declined assignments, removed bylines, or resigned to avoid the potential for deportation from Trump’s EOs.
“In their brief, Attorney General Nessel and the coalition assert that the Trump Administration’s unlawful use of ideology to arrest, detain, and deport lawful noncitizen residents threatens the economic growth and stability of the coalition states, their ability to attract diverse talent from around the world, and the states’ public health and safety,” according to Nessel.
“They argue that the Trump Administration’s ideological deportation policy is a direct violation of the First Amendment’s right to free speech. The coalition states also argue that if deemed lawful by the Court, the Trump Administration’s weaponization of immigration enforcement would not only undermine the purpose of higher education, but it would also hinder the states’ ability to attract the diverse talent needed to grow and sustain key industries within state and local economies.”
All states involved in the case have Democratic attorneys general: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
The amicus brief is addition to 35 federal lawsuits filed by Nessel against the Trump administration on behalf of Michigan taxpayers in the last 10 months.
Nessel, who is term limited, was re-elected in 2022 with 2.3 million votes, while Trump carried Michigan in 2024 with 2.8 million votes.
