The stakes for Palestinians in Gaza have never been higher. With Israel’s military campaign showing no sign of abating, including the violation of the ceasefire, the need for global mobilisation grows ever more urgent.

But with this come the risks of showing solidarity for Palestine, especially in the US and UK, where demonstrating support has become increasingly perilous.

In an unprecedented turn of events, after US President Donald Trump’s sweeping anti-immigration measures, including raids, arrests and mass deportations, authorities in the US have arrested or revoked the visas of at least 300 pro-Palestine students and academics in recent weeks. 

Among them is Turkish PhD student and Fulbright scholar Rumeysa Ozturk, who was seen in chilling footage being taken into custody by masked federal agents. Her apparent crime? She had co-authored a university newspaper article urging Tufts University to acknowledge what she termed the “genocide” in Palestine and to divest from Israel. 

Other academics have faced similar consequences. Momodou Taal, a Cornell graduate and PhD student, has announced a lawsuit against Trump, arguing that recent Executive Orders unlawfully suppress the First Amendment rights of international students who speak out on Palestine. 

Taal’s visa has since been cancelled, and he now faces potential arrest by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—joining a growing list that includes Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian Columbia graduate; Badar Khan Suri, a Georgetown research fellow; and Leqaa Kordia, a Columbia student. Khalil and Suri are reportedly being held in ICE detention centres in Louisiana and Texas, respectively, notorious for their inhumane conditions. 

“Weaponisation of policies to test deportation system” 

Dr Heba Gowayed, an associate professor and expert on immigration policy in New York, tells TRT World these arrests signal the “weaponisation of anti-immigration policies” to suppress dissent by claiming that those who express support for Palestine are expressing support for Hamas. She says in this way, the Trump Administration is “testing the boundaries of its deportation system.”

“What we’re seeing now is an authoritarian turn,” Gowayed says. “We're also seeing a weaponisation of long-standing anti-Palestinian racism in the US, which organisations like Pal Legal have documented for decades. They're using anti-Palestinian racism to say these are people you don't want here because they're terrorists, which we know is not true and they don't even purport to have evidence of.”

She adds: “These are targeted attacks. Every person arrested or deported has either attended a protest or merely expressed solidarity with Palestine.” 

Yet despite the risks, which include slashed funding to institutions, students and academics remain undeterred. In response to Columbia University expelling pro-Palestine protesters and agreeing to the Trump administration’s demands for stricter campus protest policies — including further expulsions — scholars and students have launched a boycott of the institution. 

“I have been impressed by the statements our students are making, despite the fact that the stakes have gotten higher,” Gowayed says. “Academic institutions have long been under attack by the far right, and the reason for that is clear. They are the best tool we have to resist fascism. They are spaces of ideas and exchange, and yet they have now become ground zero for authoritarian policies. It has gotten very dangerous, but our students are braver than you know.”

If taking part in protests has become too risky, Gowayed says there are still plenty of methods of mobilising for Gaza, from writing to elected officials, participating in mailing campaigns and continuing to follow the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement. She adds: “While it may not seem like a radical thing to do, donating and fundraising for Gaza is an effective mode of mobilisation. By helping Palestinians in Gaza to survive, that in itself is a form of resistance.”

Campus protests face heightened scrutiny as institutions bow to political pressure (Reuters).

UK’s parallel crackdown

The UK is not far from its American ally and is following a similar trajectory. The University of Cambridge has applied for a four-month injunction from the country’s High Court, banning pro-Palestine protests on campus after an earlier bid for a five-year injunction was rejected. Just like their American counterparts, UK-based academics have also faced criminalisation.

In October 2023, Amira Abdelhamid, a lecturer at the University of Portsmouth, was reported to Prevent, the UK’s counter-extremism programme, leading to a police raid on her home. Officers confiscated her belongings, including a protest sign bearing the word Palestine in Arabic. The Crown Prosecution Service dropped charges against Abdelhamid in August.

Another UK-based scholar and author, Dr Sofia Rehman said these crackdowns only confirm the effectiveness of Palestine solidarity movements.

“Why clamp down on student encampments? Why clamp down on protests? Why the clamp down on boycotting? It's because those things are powerful. If they weren't powerful, they wouldn't be coming after them,” Dr Rehman tells TRT World.

Direct action carried out by the UK-based pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action has yielded results. The activist group has disrupted weapons manufacturers linked to Israel’s military campaign. However, members have been arrested under counterterrorism laws.

Similarly, UK workers have organised day-long strikes, with the Trades Union Congress supporting and endorsing a workplace action in February. But for a strike to exert economic pressure on the government, it would need to last longer—the feasibility of which is called into question at a time when the cost-of-living and threat of poverty in the country is at its highest.

Power of sustained resistance

Despite growing repression, activists say this only proves the effect and power of protests, boycotts, and strikes. Scholars emphasise that even small acts of resistance, from writing to MPs to fundraising, can contribute to long-term change, drawing parallels to the anti-apartheid movement.

Dr Rehman cautions against falling into a sense of helplessness or despair, leading to immobilisation. She says this is exactly what governments intend from crackdowns on protests and activism.

Activists say mounting crackdowns only confirm the power of protest, boycott, and strike (Reuters).

“There are many things we can be doing, even if that just means writing a letter to your local MP as your mode of resistance, or taking up protests or getting involved in activism that's perhaps not obviously political,” she says.

She encourages people to back the organisations and activists leading the efforts. “Not everyone can take to the streets or engage in direct actions like those carried out by Palestine Action,” she says. “But there are still ways to offer support — from showing up at police stations in solidarity to providing pro bono legal help.”

Gowayed, too, emphasised the historical significance of sustained action. “Social movements always seem futile in the short-term because they challenge entrenched power structures,” she says. “The anti-apartheid movement in South Africa took time but it happened.”

She adds that activism isn't limited to protests. Writing to elected officials, joining mass mailing campaigns, supporting the BDS movement, or even fundraising for Gaza are all meaningful ways to mobilise.

Social movements challenge deeply entrenched power structures — something that can often feel daunting. But, as with the anti-apartheid movement, long-term, multi-front mobilisation is crucial.

Supporting a free Palestine means confronting systems of apartheid, occupation, and genocide — values, she argues, that everyone should be able to stand behind. “People are dying not just from bombs, but from lack of water, food, and medicine. Raising funds for them is an act of resistance which doesn’t require any political acumen.”