US researchers must stand up to protect freedoms, not just funding

The historic protection of universal freedoms and the rule of law in the United States has attracted the participation of researchers of all nationalities, races and genders — to the betterment of the nation’s health, security and economy. Indeed, free scientific enquiry has helped to make the country a world leader in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM).

Now, the US administration is eroding the freedoms on which the nation’s success has been based.

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At Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Columbia University in New York City, cuts to previously granted federal research funds have been accompanied by demands from the government. If enacted, the changes to departmental oversight, disciplinary procedures, campus police and governance structures would allow the government to dictate hiring, student admissions and disciplinary decisions (see go.nature.com/4cvqpua). Cuts to research funding impose political ideologies on science, for example, by targeting vaccine and climate research. Meanwhile, direct assaults on civil liberties, due process and human rights, in the form of the revocation of visas for international students and scholars¹ and the jailing of a foreign-born scientist², have instilled fear throughout academia.

So far, the US science community has been outspoken about the threats that funding cuts pose to health, innovation and the economy. Yet, few researchers have decried the devastation wreaked on science by attacks on civil liberties and the rule of law.

We are three researchers from different universities, at different stages in our careers. We urge STEMM scientists in the United States to avoid the mistakes of the past and instead stand together and fight for both personal and academic freedom.

As has been demonstrated many times historically, when science is restricted by ideology or the loss of liberties, the consequences can be devastating. Agriculture, genetics, evolutionary biology and molecular biology in the Soviet Union were sabotaged for decades when the Communist Party banned Gregor Mendel’s theory of genetics in favour of the ideas of agronomist and scientist Trofim Lysenko³. Likewise, science in 1930s Germany deteriorated when numerous brilliant scientific minds fled because they witnessed or experienced the violation of basic freedoms and rights⁴. The impacts extended far beyond science; Lysenkoism in the Soviet Union probably contributed to famines that killed millions of people.

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In our current crisis, some university leaders have begun to speak out. The presidents of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and Princeton University in New Jersey were among the earliest to do so publicly — in February and March, respectively^5,6. After the university’s lawyers released a public letter on 14 April (see go.nature.com/4epjphv), Harvard filed a lawsuit against the government, rejecting the legality of the administration’s threats⁷. On 22 April, the American Association of Colleges and Universities published a letter from more than 500 leaders of colleges, universities and scholarly societies declaring their opposition to “undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live, and work on our campuses” (see go.nature.com/3sbet7u). And several universities are considering establishing a ‘mutual academic defence compact’.

Yet others in the STEMM research community are divided on whether to speak out. Many scientists to whom we have spoken advocate for silence because they fear further funding cuts. We are aware that many scientists seem to be putting funding and immediate job security ahead of civil liberties and academic autonomy.

Several actions can be taken

By writing letters signed by multiple faculty members to the presidents of our institutions, we can advocate for them to use the courts to fight funding cuts rather than relinquish autonomy. We can similarly urge them to protect international students and scholars to the maximum amount permitted by law, and to take legal action to ensure that they receive due process. We can persuade them not to follow the example of Florida International University in Miami, which signed an agreement with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to use campus police to stop, question and detain international students and scholars about their immigration status in coordination with ICE.

Some university offices for international student services are tracking the cases of students whose visas have been revoked. These offices have not provided legal aid to students for fear that the government might have valid cause for revocation. But actively advocating for students is crucial. In response to dozens of lawsuits, on 25 April, the US government restored Student and Exchange Visitor Information System records for thousands of international students and scholars⁸, thus preserving — for now — their legal right to stay in the country.