Josh Moody
Appearances
Today, Explained
Why Harvard is fighting back
You've probably not heard of some of them because it's the Florida State University system, which has 12 members ranging from large schools with tens of thousands of students to New College of Florida, which has about 800 students. At least 10 of those institutions have signed agreements with ICE, which essentially would give their police department immigration enforcement powers.
Today, Explained
Why Harvard is fighting back
So Governor Ron DeSantis has taken a pretty hard line on immigration, and his directive was for law enforcement agencies to enter into memorandums of agreement with ICE to basically gain immigration enforcement powers, which he argues will make Florida's community safer.
Today, Explained
Why Harvard is fighting back
Basically, these agreements, as one expert explained to me, he called them force multipliers for ICE. So if you wanted to have more immigration enforcement, you would sign an agreement with ICE to delegate that power locally. So this is just a way for Florida to expand its immigration enforcement capabilities. You know, the governor, as I mentioned before, has taken a hard line on immigration.
Today, Explained
Why Harvard is fighting back
He ran for president previously. I wouldn't be surprised if he does so again. And that could be part of his long-term strategy looking ahead. So in this way, he's sort of outflanking Trump on immigration.
Today, Explained
Why Harvard is fighting back
Eighteen students at Florida International University and eight students at the University of Florida have had their visas revoked.
Today, Explained
Why Harvard is fighting back
They would have to leave the country. It doesn't necessarily mean that ICE is going to come scoop them up in a van and facilitate that process, but they would essentially have to begin the process of leaving the country.
Today, Explained
Why Harvard is fighting back
We do not, but that is not uncommon. That has been the case across the U.S. Some students have been targeted for their speech. You look at the situation at Tufts and Columbia, where students were active in pro-Palestinian protest, and the Trump administration has claimed they're anti-Semitic and pro-Hamas, but has not provided any evidence that they have done anything illegal.
Today, Explained
Why Harvard is fighting back
So in some cases, they're being targeted for their speech. In other cases, they've had visas revoked for crimes committed years ago. And these institutions themselves have often been given no explanation when student statuses were changed. And sometimes they've discovered it by looking in their own... systems and seeing that those statuses had been revoked.
Today, Explained
Why Harvard is fighting back
We don't know how many international students have been caught up in this, but one of my fellow reporters at Inside Higher Ed is keeping a database, and we have counted at least 1,200 students at 180 colleges who have lost visas.
Today, Explained
Why Harvard is fighting back
Florida institutions are the only ones to have signed agreements with ICE. The professors that I spoke with, the legal experts for this piece, believe this is unprecedented. Neither were aware of another university ever signing into what is known as a 287G agreement with ICE. It's sort of a new frontier in immigration enforcement on college campuses.
Today, Explained
Why Harvard is fighting back
Yes, there were protests at Florida International University today, which had a board meeting, so...
Today, Explained
Why Harvard is fighting back
The students that I hear from are often upset about what is happening in the state, not just around immigration, but what has been a broader effort by Florida Republicans to really control all aspects of the university, whether that is hiring students.
Today, Explained
Why Harvard is fighting back
politicians, lawmakers into the presidencies of these universities or overhauling general education requirements to minimize certain disciplines like sociology that Florida state officials have deemed liberal.
Today, Explained
Why Harvard is fighting back
In Florida, this is being done by the state, dictating to these universities, you need to do this to basically carry out state goals around immigration enforcement. Whereas the other examples at places like Harvard and Columbia, this is the Trump administration more or less trying to bring higher education to heel, starting by making an example of
Today, Explained
Why Harvard is fighting back
some of the most visible universities, where there have been some of the most visible pro-Palestinian campus protests over the last year. People are really freaked out. Professors are worried about academic freedom, but also nationally, people are worried too, because they see Harvard and they see Columbia being at the forefront of this fight.
Today, Explained
Why Harvard is fighting back
And even though they are not at all representative of higher education broadly, These are very visible universities, and everyone pays attention to these universities. And if they crumble, it seems only likely that your local institution is going to crumble when faced with the same threats.
Today, Explained
Why Harvard is fighting back
Sure. A lot of that comes down to public or private control. And if you are a public university in a dark red state, I would think you should expect that this is coming. If you are at a public university in Texas, I think you might not be that far behind Florida in terms of an action like this. And that's what I'm hearing from experts, too. They tell me that they expect the same.
Today, Explained
Why Harvard is fighting back
If you're in a blue state, you are a little bit more isolated if you're a public institution there. Private institutions in both will have a lot more latitude. But I don't like to speculate, but I think it is entirely possible that the Trump administration looks at something like this and says, why don't we do this nationwide? What a time. Absolutely. Absolutely.