January 31, 2025

On January 29, 2025, the Trump White House issued an executive order misleadingly entitled “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism.” The order escalates an already McCarthyite level of repression over the past 15 months against people protesting genocide by the Israeli government. It builds upon an earlier order from the new administration that seeks to impose immigration consequences against any non-citizen who’s critical of any U.S. policy, government practice, or structural racism—such as police shootings, corporate pollution, memorials to enslavers, the denial of trans identities, or a myriad of other pressing issues. 

Sumayyah Waheed, Senior Policy Counsel of Muslim Advocates, said: “The President is nakedly threatening to subject student protestors and others to surveillance, punishment, and deportation for protesting the war crimes of the Israeli government. Those threats come on the heels of a so-called ‘national security’ executive order, which is peppered with references to ideology, culture, and assimilation—all code for promoting white Christian nationalism. While the movement to stop the genocide of Palestinians will certainly be targeted first, it won’t be the last. Make no mistake. This is an administration that neo-Nazis are celebrating. The order to silence, punish, and deport protesters for Palestinian lives under the guise of combating antisemitism is in reality white supremacist. Just like the order to halt funding for public schools that teach the truth about America’s legacy of racism and gendered discrimination. Just like the racist immigration raids sweeping up Navajo and Puerto Rican communities of color. As we’ve done through joint letters to campuses last spring and fall, we urge now more than ever that educational institutions promote free speech and protect all students from politically motivated surveillance, discipline, prosecution, and immigration consequences. Movements in the U.S. for racial justice, human rights, and political freedom have faced unlawful government crackdowns since the nation’s founding, and these latest threats will not silence us or stop us from supporting our communities.” 

###

Muslim Advocates is a national social-justice, legal-advocacy, and educational organization that works with and for Muslim and other historically marginalized communities to build community power, fight systemic oppression, and demand shared well-being.