Arizona lawmakers have outlawed encampments on public university campuses as protests continue to erupt at schools across the United States.
Arizona Governor Kate Hobbs, a Democrat, signed House Bill 2880 last week. This legislation prohibits individuals from setting up or occupying encampments on university or community college campuses.
Under the new law, school administrators are required to instruct individuals who erect encampments to swiftly dismantle them or leave the premises. Those who establish such encampments can be held responsible for damages to the property, and if they refuse to leave, they may face trespassing charges.
The law mandates that law enforcement agencies enforce the ban on encampments. These agencies have the power to remove encampments and any individuals or groups that violate the ban and fail to comply with orders to vacate the campus.
Pro-Palestinian protesters gather on the lawn in front of Arizona State University’s historic Old Main building in Tempe, Arizona, on April 26, 2024. (© Diannie Chavez / USA TODAY NETWORK)
Various Democratic lawmakers and activist organizations opposed Hernandez’s bill, including CAIR-AZ and ACLU Arizona, which described the bill as an effort to “curb free speech at a time when we must firmly protect people’s right to dissent.”
President Donald Trump has threatened to pull federal funding from schools over antisemitism concerns and deport students who participate in demonstrations expressing support for terrorist organizations.
“To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you,” the president said in a Jan. 30 fact sheet on the executive order. “I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”
