The two-day event brought together journalists, scholars, lawyers, and activists to examine how the War on Terror transformed government power, the courts, the press, and democratic culture.

Ahead of a court hearing, the administration cited reports about the White House ballroom and the Iran war to defend its ban against CNN, MS NOW and Politico.

YouTube video by MS NOW

YouTube video by Democracy Now!

The president cited reporting from the outlets that he deemed “fake news.” It was unclear how such a ban would be enforced or defended in court.

Starting in May 2025, the US government implemented an immigration policy that targeted noncitizen researchers for visa denials, visa revocations, detention, and deportation on the basis of the topics and findings of their work (1). In response, scholars and civil society groups at the Coalition for Independent Technology Research (CITR) documented the policy’s effects on their research and sued the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Justice Department to stay the policy (2). Scholarly societies, including the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) (3) and the Association of Internet Researchers (AOIR) (4) issued public statements in support of academics’ freedom of movement. In July 2026, a federal court suspended the policy (5), marking a victory for scientific progress (6). However, threats to freedom of movement remain a powerful tool for repressive governments to force and entice scholars into submission. Scholars and administrators should continue to defend the integrity of science by defending the right to freedom of movement.

YouTube video by E&P Reports | Future of Journalism

Twenty-five years after the attacks of September 11, leading journalists, First Amendment advocates and scholars gathered at Columbia University for The Forever War and the First Amendment, a symposiu...

Over the past quarter-century, the US supreme court has repeatedly failed to protect first amendment rights. We are suffering the consequences

YouTube video by Democracy Now!

YouTube video by Knight First Amendment Institute

YouTube video by Knight First Amendment Institute

American courts and the War on Terror.

American courts and the War on Terror.

Her open letter to American universities is a trap.

Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, talks about how the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have re-shaped the First Amendment and pres...

Brian Lehrer leads the conversation about what matters most now in local and national politics, our own communities and our lives.

Citing the importance of the First Amendment, a federal judge in California says the U.S. government is unconstitutionally silencing critics of Israel and others in its quest to deport noncitizens who...