Two researchers have opted not to publish a paper out of fear that Trump would deport them in retaliation.
One of the things I have long warned about with the Trump administration is that there would be a lot of censorship. That has come to pass with Trump’s efforts to censor the internet, the attacks on lawyers, the attacks on judges, the attacks on non-profits, the attacks on political opponents in general, and, of course, attacks on the media. Moves like that, of course, made it clear that the only speech that is permissible is speech that Trump and Trump’s inner circle agrees with. Any speech that they disagree with will be met with the full force of the law.
Things escalated late last month when Trump took things to a whole other level by sending in masked ICE goons to disappear someone for the crime of publishing thoughts that the administration disagreed with. This over allegations of “antisemitism”. For one, there was no evidence that she published antisemitism in the article she co-authored. For another, even if there were antisemitic, it’s hard to see how publishing such comments would be met with immediate deportation in any reasonable manner. Since then, she has been apparently treated badly while in prison. From GBH:
Since arriving to a detention center in Louisiana, she alleges instances of medical neglect for her asthma, civil rights violations related to her Muslim faith and being crammed into a cell with 23 other women — in a cell that was made for 14.
“The primary thing for us right now is that we’re very worried about her health,” said Adriana Lafaille, an attorney representing Öztürk with the ACLU of Massachusetts. “Rümeysa has had 13 asthma attacks in her life — and four of them have been in these last couple of weeks that she has been detained.”
She is far from the only person to be treated badly under Trumps administration, but it does show that thought crimes can be enough to have you disappeared and tortured.
At the very least, such things are meant to strike fear into the hearts of many who would dare say or publish anything that the administration. As a result, self-censorship is inevitable.
well, if it hasn’t happened before, it has actually happened. Two researchers were about to publish a paper on evolution. However, they decided to not publish the paper for fear that they could be the next people to be retaliated against. From WLS AM:
Two scientists who co-authored a paper on evolution opted against publishing their research out of fear of retaliation, including deportation, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
Both scientists, who were not named in the story, are in the United States legally, according to the report. Regardless, they feared for their status if they went through with publishing the paper, according to the Post.
“[The paper] was months of work, but at the same time, I know the current situation, and I’m scared for my friends in the U.S.,” a European evolutionary biologist told the Post. “I told them, ‘If you think it is too dangerous, don’t do it.’”
This should not even be a thing in the US, but thanks to the Trump administration, scientific research is now being withheld because the authors fear for their personal safety. The screwed up thing is that they probably have a point given the administrations willingness to deport anyone and everyone for any reason. So, their fears are definitely understandable.
This is the latest example of how much freedom of expression has degraded in the US since the Trump administration took power. Publishing anything that might upset the Trump administration is an act of bravery these days. This as tyranny and terror continue to be features of the current US regime.
