The publishers of Stanford University’s student newspaper, the Stanford Daily, sued the Donald Trump administration Aug. 6 after two former writers shared concerns that they would be deported as a result of the administration’s new immigration policies.
The writers, who are both noncitizens, brought the case to a federal court in California. Attorneys from the Foundation of Individual Rights and Expressions who filed the suit described in court papers how international Stanford Daily staff members feared being targeted for expressing pro-Palestinian views, with some turning down stories related to the Israel-Hamas conflict and even requesting removals of their former articles about the topic to avoid having their student visas revoked.
And although the Stanford Daily’s lawsuit was filed independently of other newspapers, the rising agitation that it addresses in student journalists following Homeland Security’s updated deportation policy exists in newsrooms across the country.
In the Richland Chronicle’s newsroom, for example, noncitizen staff writers expressed concerns and turned down opportunities to pursue political stories reporting on criticism of the Trump administration’s policies, particularly with stories relating to local ICE raids or conditions in Gaza. Not only did this result in de facto restrictions on the newspaper’s journalistic freedom, it also established an obvious privilege as citizen writers could pursue a much larger assortment of stories than writers on student visas or with permanent resident cards, commonly known as green cards.
The Stanford Daily’s battle highlights an issue that affects many students, not just college and university journalists. “There is a real fear for students, including those who are not involved with journalism, that exists because of people like Trump and the legislation he has enacted,” said Fazy Camara, editor-in-chief of the Et Cetera, Dallas College – Eastfield’s student newspaper. “The current administration limiting the press has been an ongoing issue from a nationwide to a local standpoint and will continue unless journalists of all scales write about the suppression and fear happening currently.”
While the Trump administration’s immigration policies have succeeded in suppressing independent journalism to an extent, they have also served as a catalyst for emboldened student journalists to speak louder to defend members in their communities who no longer have the ability to speak up for themselves. Camara said the Stanford Daily’s lawsuit symbolizes this pushback.
“Backing down in the face of suppression of media does nothing but damage the effect real reporting has on people. The fear is definitely understandable, but it’s something that I think also motivates us to push stories that talk about the critical issues happening.”
The freedoms established in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution are protected for every person in the United States, regardless of immigration status. The 14th Amendment clarifies this in its Equal Protection Clause when it prohibits the State from depriving “any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law.”
The Trump administration’s immigration policies and targeting of pro-Palestinian individuals is unconstitutional, and it is establishing a culture of fear in student journalists and hindering their ability to objectively cover the truth.
Journalism is being suppressed, and newsrooms across the country need to speak out resoundingly against the suppression to ensure that every issue is reported fairly, regardless of how the White House wants it portrayed.
