More than 100 US universities and colleges, including Ivy League institutions Princeton and Brown, issued a joint letter condemning President Donald Trump’s “political interference” in the education system.
The move comes a day after Harvard University sued the Trump administration, which has threatened to cut funding and impose outside political supervision.
“We speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education,” the letter read.
“We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight. However, we must oppose undue government intrusion,” it said, adding: “We must reject the coercive use of public research funding.”
The letter said the universities and colleges were committed to serving as centres where “faculty, students, and staff are free to exchange ideas and opinions across a full range of viewpoints without fear of retribution, censorship, or deportation.”
Trump’s war against universities has seen him threaten to cut federal funding over policies meant to encourage diversity among students and staff.
The Republican president has also pursued a wide-ranging immigration crackdown that has expanded to foreign students, revoking their visas, often for little or no reason.
The White House has publicly justified its campaign against universities as a reaction to uncontrolled “anti-Semitism” and the desire to reverse diversity programs aimed at addressing the historical oppression of minorities.
The administration claims protests against Israel’s war in Gaza that swept across US college campuses last year were rife with anti-Semitism.
Many US universities, including Harvard, cracked down on the protests over the allegations at the time.
Several top institutions, including Columbia University, have also bowed to demands from the Trump administration, which claims that the educational elite is too left-wing.
Harvard rejected the government’s demands, prompting the Trump administration last week to order the freezing of $2.2 billion in federal funding to the institution.
In its lawsuit, Harvard calls for the freezing of funds and conditions imposed on federal grants to be declared unlawful, as well as for the Trump administration to pay the institution’s costs.
