“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves,” wrote Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl almost 80 years ago. This insight has captivated his readers, and to me it means that even in the most difficult of circumstances we need to stay true to our principles. 

This feels like one of those moments.

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Although no longer dominating our headlines, the situation on college campuses has been a catastrophe for so many Jewish students over the past 18 months. The extraordinary surge in antisemitism on college campuses since the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023 accentuated the sense of siege that American Jews in so many quarters already had been feeling. Over 1,200 antisemitic incidents were documented by ADL in 2023 on campuses across the country; according to an ADL/Hillel College Pulse survey, more than four out of five Jewish college students reported that they had experienced or witnessed some form of antisemitism.

When Jewish students cannot safely access education due to harassment and discrimination based solely on their identity, we are witnessing a fundamental civil rights challenge. Conspiring to deprive Jewish students of their rights to free assembly and free speech, let alone the ability to simply to participate in public life, is not political expression: it is against the law. 

Protecting the civil rights of Jewish students cannot be an exception. It must be the rule. 

In recent weeks, the administration has taken a number of bold and important steps to fight antisemitism on college campuses. This new posture has led to demonstrable and dramatic improvements in policy and in practice on many college campuses. This is no small feat: masked vigilantes on one Ivy League campus were occupying school buildings and laying siege to libraries less than a month ago. 

The administration also has begun to examine the immigration status of those who, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, are “undermining our national security or the public safety.” This has included — again, in the administration’s words — appearing to support foreign terrorist organizations, like Hamas and Hezbollah, and/or taking actions that have deprived Jewish students of their civil rights. 

While we do not know all the facts in these cases, we do know that, in every one of these cases, due process is essential. But it hasn’t been even remotely clear that this has been the standard. As I have commented on social media and said on national TV,  everyone is entitled to due process. Our democracy rests on rule of law.

And so, as even more detentions are taking place, critical questions must be answered. For instance, are these actions targeting constitutionally-protected speech or addressing genuine violations of law, like supporting a foreign terrorist organization? We don’t know the answer because we have not seen detailed explanations of the charges. 

In the past, law enforcement authorities issued public statements, charging documents or press releases to explain the rationale for an arrest. None of that has happened in recent weeks. To be clear, while the lack of communication may be permissible, that doesn’t make it right. This is not how the United States’ justice system works, for citizens and non-citizens alike.

There are many other legitimate questions related to due process that need attention. For example, have the suspects been provided with proper legal representation? Have they been able to present their cases quickly in a court of law? And so many more.

As someone who firmly believes that the government has legitimate authority and good reason to enforce immigration laws, including against students who have violated the terms of their visas, enforcement actions must adhere not just to constitutional principles but to basic norms of established procedure. Indeed, it’s not just about the letter of the law, but the spirit of our country. 

For that reason, it was shocking to see the images of plainclothes officers stealing people off the streets in an act of rendition that seems straight out of a movie. No matter how nefarious the suspect may be and how odious their actions, this is not normal. In a recent case in Massachusetts, the detainee was not a dangerous, violent repeat offender; this was an unarmed graduate student. While there may be a legal basis to deport her or any student here on a visa for a viewpoint that so many of us abhor, doing so because of an expression of these views is not congruent with the constitutional norms of free speech that have elevated America for centuries. 

There’s a substantial difference between expressing controversial political views and engaging in conduct that deprives others of their civil rights. This distinction must guide enforcement actions. As an organization that has fought for a minority community for more than 100 years, ADL is incredibly sensitive to the importance of allowing all views to be expressed — even those that we or the majority of Americans disagree with. We should be holding people accountable for actual crimes, not Orwellian thoughtcrimes. 

As we navigate this challenging moment, we must resist false choices. We can hold perpetrators of unlawful antisemitism accountable while maintaining a commitment to the Constitution. We can protect the civil liberties of Jewish students even as we preserve the civil liberties of those who protest, harass or attack them because they are innocent until proven guilty. We can recognize the severity of the threat of those who drum up support for foreign terrorist organizations without abandoning the values that underpin our democracy. We can hold responsible those who engage in violative conduct without violating our own values.

No one should minimize the hateful, violent acts committed against Jewish students. But if we sacrifice our constitutional freedoms in the pursuit of security, we undermine the very foundation of the diverse, pluralistic society we seek to defend. Frankl reminds us not to change ourselves for the worse, even in the face of difficult challenges. We must heed his lesson, now more than ever. 

 Jonathan Greenblatt is the CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League.