Carson Bonner, Campus Carrier editor-in-chief
Donald Trump is suppressing the media for the sake of supporting a terroristic genocide. There’s no other way to say it. He is treating student journalists and activists like animals to be herded into pens and this will only get worse.
Two weeks ago, Rumeysa Öztürk, a Turkish student attending Tufts University, was detained by plainclothes officers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She was arrested for “purported activities related to terrorist organizations” after writing an op-ed calling for Tufts University to recognize the genocide against Palestinians and withdraw any funding or investments with companies affiliated with Israel. Her visa has been revoked and she is being held, though a federal judge has ordered she not be deported. A similar case is that of Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent Palestinian activist who was accused of misrepresenting himself when he applied for his green card. He was accused of withholding that he was affiliating with Hamas, which he is not. He was a negotiator for pro-Palestinian student protesters in talks with Columbia’s administration last spring. The Trump administration said he had engaged in terrorist activity, but when asked how, Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar told NPR “I think it’s clear, or we wouldn’t be talking about it,” and provided no additional details.
These are just a few victims of the Trump administration’s witch hunt for activists who don’t align themselves with Trump’s opinions or morals. So far, at least a dozen students and professors across the country have been detained, according to the Associated Press. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said under his direction, more than 300 visas have been revoked. Rubio did not specify how many visas belonged to people tied to the pro-Palestinian movement, but said, “If they’re taking activities that are counter to our national interest, to our foreign policy, we’ll revoke the visa.”
To disagree with Trump on this issue is to put yourself at risk, and this is not what it means to live in a democracy, this is what it means to live in a fascist dictatorship, or in our case, what is quickly becoming an oligarchy. He is aiding in the systematic destruction of Palestine by Israel and claiming that anyone who speaks out against that is aligning themselves with terrorists. By continuing to give aid to Israel as they brutally commit a genocide and slaughter hundreds of Palestinians, and by attempting to censor the voices of students and activists, President Trump is clearly establishing himself as a far-right dictator using forcible suppression. It almost seems like there should be a name for that. Oh, wait. There is. A fascist. Our president is a fascist. Welcome to America.