Editor’s Note: Last updated Nov. 25, 2025, with additional links to student op-eds and coverage.
Media contact: media@splc.org
A Student Press Law Center-led coalition filed an amicus brief in a federal lawsuit today to highlight the widespread chilling effect on student voices caused by recent immigration enforcement actions.
The coalition represents a diverse group of student journalists from across the country, including 55 student news organizations and newsroom leaders — from the Ivy League to community colleges. It also includes Associated Collegiate Press, College Media Association and SPLC, the national organizations that work with college journalists.
The lawsuit, filed by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression on behalf of The Stanford Daily and two non-media plaintiffs, challenges Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s use of two federal immigration law provisions to revoke international students’ visas and deport them for constitutionally protected speech.
While the case centers on The Stanford Daily and the other plaintiffs, the Student Press Law Center’s amicus brief demonstrates that the chilling effect of these policies extends far beyond a single campus.
The environment of fear described by Stanford Daily editors — a rise in takedown and anonymity requests, some student journalists turning away from covering certain topics or stepping away from journalism altogether — mirrors what other reporters, editors and advisers are experiencing at campus newsrooms nationwide. In April, the unprecedented nature of these threats to student journalists spurred the Student Press Law Center and its partners to issue a Student Media Alert to help students and educators navigate the hostile reporting environment.
“Student media is where the next generation engages with the essential skills and principles of democracy,” said Gary Green, executive director of the Student Press Law Center. “When the government threatens international students for exercising their right to free speech, it doesn’t just silence those students — it undermines the core principles that make student journalism, and our democracy, possible.”
The brief, prepared by attorney and SPLC board member Matthew Cate, argues that the government’s unlawful actions have inflicted widespread harm on student media, as contributors and sources have gone silent in response to the government’s threats. Without intervention, the government’s use of the immigration law provisions threaten to inflict long-lasting damage to student journalism.
“The stakes for student journalism, journalism education, and the democratic values underlying those pursuits could hardly be higher,” the brief says.
Student Op-Eds and Coverage
- UCLA Daily Bruin (10/15/25)
- The Dartmouth (10/16/25)
- The Daily (University of Washington, 10/16/25)
- Harvard Crimson (10/16/25)
- Cornell Sun (10/16/25)
- Brown Daily Herald (10/16/25)
- The Daily Pennsylvanian (10/16/25)
- The Daily Princetonian (10/16/25)
- The Huntington News (Northeastern University, 10/16/25)
- The Daily Emerald (University of Oregon, 10/16/25)
- The Diamondback (University of Maryland, 10/20/25)
- Yale Daily News (10/20/25)
- University Press (Florida Atlantic University, 10/20/25)
- The Red & Black (University of Georgia, 10/20/25)
- Cavalier Daily (University of Virginia, 10/21/25)
- The Heights (Boston College, 10/21/25)
- The Campus (Allegheny College, 10/24/25)
- The Wesleyan Argus (Wesleyan University, 10/24/25)
- The Bates Student (Bates College, 10/28/25)
- The Dickinsonian (Dickinson College, 10/30/25)
- The Oberlin Review (Oberlin College, 10/31/25)
Amicus Brief
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The Student Press Law Center is the nation’s only legal organization devoted exclusively to defending and advancing the free press rights of student journalists. Since 1974, we have helped students and their educators navigate the law, strengthen their reporting and stand up for press freedom. Our legal support, education and advocacy empower student journalists to report freely and courageously. Learn more at splc.org.