President Donald Trump posted on social media Tuesday morning threatening to deport or imprison college students who take part in “illegal protests,” an act that would interfere with restrictions on the executive branch’s power, according to the freedom of expression clause within the First Amendment.
The announcement came from a post on Trump’s Truth Social account, in which he said, “All federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests,” before saying students who take part in “illegal” protests may be imprisoned or deported.
Trump did not define what he meant by “illegal protests.”
Ken Paulson, director of MTSU’s Center for Free Speech and an expert in First Amendment issues, explained that despite recent unprecedented executive actions, the President’s threat does not hold up against First Amendment scrutiny.
“The puzzling aspect is that it seems to target those who protest on campuses who come from other countries,” Paulson said. “That said, the First Amendment protects anyone standing on U.S. soil. A tourist from Turkey has the same expressive freedoms as someone born in Dayton, Ohio.”
Paulson said that there are limits to those protections, such as time and place restrictions.
MTSU already has time and place restrictions. For example, students are encouraged to practice their right to assemble and protest in the courtyard between the Student Union and the Honors College. Still, no one can assemble or protest inside the Student Union building.
“It’s an interesting time, and we are advising our [international] students just to make sure that all your paperwork is good,” Cindy Habara, director of international enrollment management, said. “I think our response right now is no response. We would follow university policy, whatever the [university] president decides. That’s what we follow.”
Habara said all MTSU students are equally protected by the university, international or not.
“They’re all very aware of their regulations if they’re on an F-1 visa,” Habara said. “We counsel them to make sure that they are following the regulations, and we’re trusting that things will be fine.”
While Congress holds the power of the purse, the president can impound (block or delay) funds approved by Congress for public spending. Former President Richard Nixon used impoundment in the early 1970s by refusing to spend money on Congress-approved programs, even after the legislature overruled the president’s veto.
This led to the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which requires the President to report all withholdings of budget authority to Congress, which then reviews the report and decides whether the withholdings can stay or if funds must be released.
The act commands the president to abide by the congressional impoundment review committee’s decision.
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