In his farewell address to the nation, President Ronald Reagan remarked that “America is freedom,” and it’s this freedom that makes the country “a magnet” for those from around the world.
In recent weeks, America has sent a very different message to foreigners residing in America lawfully: You can stay here — but only if you give up your freedom of speech.
Earlier this week, federal immigration officials arrested a Tufts University student off the street, allegedly for an op-ed she wrote in a student newspaper calling for the university to divest from Israel. If true, this represents a chilling escalation in the government’s effort to target critics of American foreign policy.
Since our founding, America has long welcomed writers and thinkers from across the globe who come to this country and contribute to the richness of our political and cultural life. Christopher Hitchens was one of President Bill Clinton’s sharpest critics, Alexander Cockburn punched in all directions, and Ayn Rand minced no words in her condemnation of socialism.
To preserve America’s tradition as a home for fearless writing, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and Substack are partnering to support writers residing lawfully in this country targeted by the government for the content of their writing — those who, as Hitchens once put it, “committed no crime except that of thought in writing.” If you fit this category, whether or not you publish on Substack, we urge you to get in touch immediately at thefire.org/alarm or pages.substack.com/defender.
President Reagan recognized that freedom is “fragile, it needs protection” — and that’s exactly what FIRE and Substack intend to provide.