MC CARTHYISM REDUX: TRUMP’S ANTISEMITISM CLAIMS ENSNARE IMMIGRANTS AND HIGHER EDUCATION
QUICK READ: The Trump administration’s use of antisemitism claims to punish Columbia University students and the University itself—a re-packaging of McCarthyism—is a test case to determine how hard it will be to create a fascist, Christian nationalist state. To stop this authoritarian takeover, we must expose Trump’s real motivation—to strictly control speech, protest, and higher education. We cannot let this happen.
CONTENTS:
BACKGROUND
Last week, Trump’s administration, under the guise of combating antisemitism, unleashed an unprecedented McCarthy-like attack on higher education—starting with Columbia University:
3/7: It cancelled $400 million in government grants and contracts.
3/8: ICE agents, acting on unsubstantiated allegations of activities supporting terrorism, abducted Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent resident, from student housing, revoked his green card and initiated deportation proceedings, hid him in a private ICE facility in Louisiana, and refused to allow consultation with his attorney or transfer of his case back in New York—all because he dared negotiate with Columbia on behalf of pro-Palestinian student activists in 2024. His removal to Louisiana isolated him and ensured the Fifth Circuit, full of Trump-appointed judges, not the Second Circuit, would hear any appeal.
3/13: It demanded that, before considering the money’s reinstatement, Columbia had to close the Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies departments, ban mask wearing, expel pro-Palestine student protestors, and adopt administration-approved admissions policies and antisemitism definition—clearly violating the First Amendment and federal law.
This arrest and parallel intimidation of higher education institutions, already starting elsewhere, come directly from the Heritage Foundation’s Project Esther playbook, which delineates McCarthy-like tactics—noncitizens’ abduction, criminal and civil prosecution, MAGA attacks on NGOs and foundations’ nonprofit status, and public vilification campaigns against social justice leaders.
Trump’s commitment to combating antisemitism is obviously fake, since he’s trafficked in antisemitic tropes for years. Instead, he’s using antisemitism to justify unconstitutional actions—strictly controlling speech, protest, and higher education. We cannot let this happen.
ACTION One: Call the Senate.
Script for Oregon Senators
SEN. MERKLEY: Portland office: 503-326-3386 | D.C. office: 202-224-3753
My name is [--] and I'm a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
The Trump administration’s unconstitutional arrests of student activists and McCarthy-like attacks on higher education are a chilling preview of what can, and will, happen if we don’t immediately and collectively oppose this escalating repression of our civil liberties. It is well past time for our Members of Congress to demand Khalil’s immediate release and to investigate ICE’s and the State Department’s abuses of power and violation of due process and the Trump administration's McCarthy-like violations of the Civil Rights Act and the Constitution.
SEN. WYDEN:
Portland office: 503-326-7525 | D.C. office: 202-224-5244
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
The Trump administration’s unconstitutional arrests of student activists and McCarthy-like attacks on higher education are a chilling preview of what can, and will, happen if we don’t immediately and collectively oppose this escalating repression of our civil liberties. It is well past time for our Members of Congress to demand Khalil’s immediate release and to investigate ICE’s and the State Department’s abuses of power and violation of due process and the Trump administration's McCarthy-like violations of the Civil Rights Act and the Constitution.
Script for Republican Senators
D.C switchboard: 202-224-3121
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], [state], [zip code].
It is time for you to stand up for your constituents and take action to prevent the Trump administration’s unconstitutional arrests of student activists and McCarthy-like attacks on higher education, which are a chilling preview of what can, and will, happen if we don’t immediately and collectively oppose this escalating repression of our civil liberties and the Trump administration's McCarthy-like violations of the Civil Rights Act and the Constitution.
ACTION TWO: Call the House.
Script for Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01)
Oregon office: 503-469-6010 | DC office: 202-225-0855
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
The Trump administration’s unconstitutional arrests of student activists and McCarthy-like attacks on higher education are a chilling preview of what can, and will, happen if we don’t immediately and collectively oppose this escalating repression of our civil liberties. It is well past time for our Members of Congress to demand Khalil’s immediate release and to investigate ICE’s and the State Department’s abuses of power and violation of due process and the Trump administration's McCarthy-like violations of the Civil Rights Act and the Constitution.
Script for Cliff Bentz (OR-02)
Medford office: 541-776-4646 | DC office: 202-225-6730
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
It is time for you to stand up for your constituents and take action to prevent the Trump administration’s unconstitutional arrests of student activists and McCarthy-like attacks on higher education, which are a chilling preview of what can, and will, happen if we don’t immediately and collectively oppose this escalating repression of our civil liberties and the Trump administration's McCarthy-like violations of the Civil Rights Act and the Constitution.
Script for Maxine Dexter (OR-03)
Oregon office: 503-231-2300 | DC office: 202-225-4811
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
The Trump administration’s unconstitutional arrests of student activists and McCarthy-like attacks on higher education are a chilling preview of what can, and will, happen if we don’t immediately and collectively oppose this escalating repression of our civil liberties. It is well past time for our Members of Congress to demand Khalil’s immediate release and to investigate ICE’s and the State Department’s abuses of power and violation of due process and the Trump administration's McCarthy-like violations of the Civil Rights Act and the Constitution.
Script for Val Hoyle (OR-04)
Eugene office: 541-465-6732 | DC office: 202-225-6416
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
The Trump administration’s unconstitutional arrests of student activists and McCarthy-like attacks on higher education are a chilling preview of what can, and will, happen if we don’t immediately and collectively oppose this escalating repression of our civil liberties. It is well past time for our Members of Congress to demand Khalil’s immediate release and to investigate ICE’s and the State Department’s abuses of power and violation of due process and the Trump administration's McCarthy-like violations of the Civil Rights Act and the Constitution.
SCRIPT FOR Janelle Bynum (OR-05)
DC office: 202-225-5711
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
The Trump administration’s unconstitutional arrests of student activists and McCarthy-like attacks on higher education are a chilling preview of what can, and will, happen if we don’t immediately and collectively oppose this escalating repression of our civil liberties. It is well past time for our Members of Congress to demand Khalil’s immediate release and to investigate ICE’s and the State Department’s abuses of power and violation of due process and the Trump administration's McCarthy-like violations of the Civil Rights Act and the Constitution.
Script for Andrea Salinas (OR-06)
Salem office: 503-385-0906 | DC office: 202-225-5643
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
The Trump administration’s unconstitutional arrests of student activists and McCarthy-like attacks on higher education are a chilling preview of what can, and will, happen if we don’t immediately and collectively oppose this escalating repression of our civil liberties. It is well past time for our Members of Congress to demand Khalil’s immediate release and to investigate ICE’s and the State Department’s abuses of power and violation of due process and the Trump administration's McCarthy-like violations of the Civil Rights Act and the Constitution.
FURTHER READING
A graduate’s arrest and Trump’s ‘pincer attack’ on higher education
How Mahmoud Khalil became the face of Trump’s crackdown on campus protests
Mahmoud Khalil’s Detention Is a Trial Run
After Khalil Abduction by ICE, Jeffries and Schumer ‘Not the Men for This Moment In History’
They’re coming for the right to protest
Don’t Fool Yourself Into Thinking It Will Stop With Columbia
Why Trump is so Desperate to Keep Mahmoud Khalil in Louisiana
Legal Experts Question Trump’s Authority to Cancel Columbia’s Funding
The Trump administration is gutting colleges’ best tools to fight antisemitism
