Voices in Danger: Free Speech, Activism, and the Threat of Deportation

Grade Level: 9-12

Time: 60 Minutes

Essential Question

Are foreign college and graduate students’ free speech rights being violated?

About This Lesson

Over the past several months, the current U.S. government began cracking down on foreign college and graduate students and faculty who have voiced support for specific political causes. Colleges and universities across the country are seeing students and faculty either arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or having their visas revoked. In many of these situations, official charges have not been disclosed. For this reason, many are wondering if these arrests are due to the students’ activism and a violation of their rights to freedom of speech. This lesson provides an opportunity for students to learn more about freedom of speech, understand some of these recent arrests, consider their points of view about this and express it in a letter.