Protests have been a staple of the college experience, with student movements extending nationwide.

Last spring, protests over the Hamas-Israel conflict swept the U.S., encompassing all kinds of students, including international students.

Of the 47,000 students at USF, just more than 13% are international students, according to USF’s InfoCenter.

Related: OPINION: Student activism matters at USF. Here’s why.

International students add character to our university through various student organizations and the varying and unique perspectives they bring from their home countries.

That makes it concerning when President Donald Trump’s administration has begun to revoke the visas of international students over their participation in protests related to the war in Gaza.

These revocations spark concerns over the First Amendment rights of international students, as the administrations justify them over foreign policy concerns due to links with protests supporting Palestine.

“It’s impossible to separate the First Amendment, the right of protest, the right of free expression and the rights of a free press,” said Bobby Block, the executive director of the Florida First Amendment Foundation.

Block also said those residing or studying in the U.S. on legal visas have the same First Amendment rights — though those rights no longer apply once the visas are revoked.

Jessie Appleby is a program officer for the Campus Rights Advocacy team at Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a non-profit organization dedicated to defending the right to free speech for all Americans.

Appleby said FIRE opposed negative actions taken in response to free speech, as it may discourage students from speaking out to avoid retaliation.

Related: USF international students concerned about Trump’s travel restrictions

If opposition to foreign policy goals is justification for deportations, a negative precedent is set for free speech in the future.

Whether intentional or not, these deportations do have an effect on international students across the country and could affect how they act here at USF.

“Students will look at that and say, ‘I don’t want to have that happen to me, so it’s better if I just stay quiet,” Appleby said.

It is important to pause and understand university administrations are allowed to control what happens on their campus through rules and policies, as demonstrated by USF’s updated policy 6-028,

The updates to the policy amended how organizations can gather and protest on campus. Now, organizations need pre-approval to protest with amplified noise or displays.

When reached for comment on how deportation of international students could affect their right to free speech, USF spokesperson Althea Johnson said USF values free speech and the right for individuals and groups to gather and express themselves. 

“Peaceful protests, demonstrations and gatherings occur regularly on USF’s campuses without incident,” Johnson said.

Johnson said all USF students are expected to follow university policies and state and federal laws. There will continue to be consequences for those who fail to comply.

Related: USF police plan to participate in immigration enforcement program

It is also important to know that campus police at USF are planning to participate in an immigration enforcement program with ICE.

“If you have campus police that are actively working with [ICE] in their efforts to locate students whose views they may dislike, to locate them and deport them, I think that will absolutely chill students on campus,” Appleby said.

The future is still uncertain, as legal battles continue to be fought in court over the administration’s ability to deport international students.

Block believes the deportations will go beyond international students. Saying it may soon spread from foreign students who are here legally to green card holders, to naturalized citizens, to Americans.

“And this is, this is, there’s a word for this, it’s called a slippery slope and I fear that is what we’re on,” Block said.