Connor Kopchick
@connorkopchick.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of Poli Sci at Auburn | Ph.D. via UMD | Transnational Repression, Diasporas, Authoritarianism | Views are mine but should be everyone’s
Which types of repression are more likely to elicit foreign sympathy and support for victims? @kgcunnin.bsky.social and I find that US respondents are more sympathetic and supportive of those facing religious and language rights violations, but that these effects are not felt uniformly by partisans.
Rights violations and international public opinion
Victims of human rights violations and their activist allies often attempt to rally external solidarity for aggrieved groups in order to end repression. We conduct a nation-wide survey experiment t...
www.tandfonline.com
September 11, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Which types of repression are more likely to elicit foreign sympathy and support for victims? @kgcunnin.bsky.social and I find that US respondents are more sympathetic and supportive of those facing religious and language rights violations, but that these effects are not felt uniformly by partisans.
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
My mom and stepdad are from the same diaspora group as Zohran Mamdani’s dad (same like “my stepdad was kicked out of the same town and knows some of his classmates”) and apparently the New York Times doesn’t understand how diaspora works, so I am going to tell you a little about my mom’s people!
July 3, 2025 at 11:25 PM
My mom and stepdad are from the same diaspora group as Zohran Mamdani’s dad (same like “my stepdad was kicked out of the same town and knows some of his classmates”) and apparently the New York Times doesn’t understand how diaspora works, so I am going to tell you a little about my mom’s people!
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
Scorching and effective summary by @nateschenkkan.bsky.social of how the Trump Administration has undone policy progress made by the prior administration around transnational repression.
Trump Is Undermining Policies Against Transnational Repression
The Biden administration made policies to protect exiles and diasporas a priority. Trump 2.0 has already undercut these efforts.
www.lawfaremedia.org
July 2, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Scorching and effective summary by @nateschenkkan.bsky.social of how the Trump Administration has undone policy progress made by the prior administration around transnational repression.
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
"For the child born this summer in Texas, whose parents receive no documents, whose name never appears in any system, and who grows up asking why she can’t go on field trips, apply for scholarships, or open a bank account, the consequences are not legal theory. They are her life."
The United States Is About to Embark on a Terrifying Experiment in Mass Statelessness
This scenario, until recently, might have read like a dystopian projection. But after the court’s decision on Friday, it is no longer hypothetical.
slate.com
June 27, 2025 at 8:16 PM
"For the child born this summer in Texas, whose parents receive no documents, whose name never appears in any system, and who grows up asking why she can’t go on field trips, apply for scholarships, or open a bank account, the consequences are not legal theory. They are her life."
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
Denaturalization (in order to subsequently deport) has long been used as a tool of political repression to suppress dissent.
See Chapters 2, 3, 4, & 5 of "Threat of Dissent" 🗃️
See Chapters 2, 3, 4, & 5 of "Threat of Dissent" 🗃️
Rep. Andy Ogles, a Republican from Tennessee, has sent a letter to Pam Bondi calling for Zohran Mamdani to be stripped of his citizenship and deported.
June 26, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Denaturalization (in order to subsequently deport) has long been used as a tool of political repression to suppress dissent.
See Chapters 2, 3, 4, & 5 of "Threat of Dissent" 🗃️
See Chapters 2, 3, 4, & 5 of "Threat of Dissent" 🗃️
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
Early US intel assessment suggests strikes on Iran did not destroy nuclear sites, sources say, and likely only set it back "months" (while also possibly empowering hardliners and radicalizing the regime and sparking a rally-around-the-flag effect and)
Exclusive: Early US intel assessment suggests strikes on Iran did not destroy nuclear sites, sources say | CNN Politics
The US military strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities last weekend did not destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by months, according to an e...
www.cnn.com
June 24, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Early US intel assessment suggests strikes on Iran did not destroy nuclear sites, sources say, and likely only set it back "months" (while also possibly empowering hardliners and radicalizing the regime and sparking a rally-around-the-flag effect and)
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
Why am I so unimpressed by these strikes? Israel and the US have failed to target significant elements of Iran's nuclear materials and production infrastructure. RISING LION and MIDNIGHT HAMMER are tactically brilliant, but may turn out to be strategic failures. 🧵 1/17
June 23, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Why am I so unimpressed by these strikes? Israel and the US have failed to target significant elements of Iran's nuclear materials and production infrastructure. RISING LION and MIDNIGHT HAMMER are tactically brilliant, but may turn out to be strategic failures. 🧵 1/17
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
The Supreme Court hastened to add that the decision does not apply to members of the Federal Reserve
www.npr.org/2025/06/23/g...
www.npr.org/2025/06/23/g...
U.S. Supreme Court allows -- for now -- third-country deportations
A federal judge had previously said people must get at least 15 days to challenge their deportations to countries they're not originally from.
www.npr.org
June 24, 2025 at 12:31 AM
The Supreme Court hastened to add that the decision does not apply to members of the Federal Reserve
www.npr.org/2025/06/23/g...
www.npr.org/2025/06/23/g...
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
Every one of these petty, ideologically driven visa denials is an assault on *our* freedom of association, our right to hear, and our ability to learn about the world around us. They are meant to make us stupider, more susceptible to manipulation, and less free. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/19/w...
French Lawmaker Says He Was Denied Entry Into the United States
www.nytimes.com
June 20, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Every one of these petty, ideologically driven visa denials is an assault on *our* freedom of association, our right to hear, and our ability to learn about the world around us. They are meant to make us stupider, more susceptible to manipulation, and less free. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/19/w...
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
"An Australian man who was detained upon arrival at Los Angeles airport and deported back to Melbourne says United States border officials told him it was due to his writing on pro-Palestine protests by university students"
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Australian deported from US says he was ‘targeted’ due to writing on pro-Palestine student protests
Alistair Kitchen says he was detained and questioned about views on Israel and Palestine before being deported from LA to Melbourne
www.theguardian.com
June 15, 2025 at 8:26 AM
"An Australian man who was detained upon arrival at Los Angeles airport and deported back to Melbourne says United States border officials told him it was due to his writing on pro-Palestine protests by university students"
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
🚨🚨 ⬇️
A judge has ordered that Mohsen Mahdawi, the Columbia University student who was arrested two weeks ago by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents following his citizenship interview, be released from detention while his case proceeds.
abcnews.go.com/US/lawyers-c...
A judge has ordered that Mohsen Mahdawi, the Columbia University student who was arrested two weeks ago by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents following his citizenship interview, be released from detention while his case proceeds.
abcnews.go.com/US/lawyers-c...
Judge orders release of Columbia University student detained by ICE
Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi, who was arrested by ICE agents following his citizenship interview, has been ordered released while his case proceeds.
abcnews.go.com
April 30, 2025 at 2:44 PM
🚨🚨 ⬇️
A judge has ordered that Mohsen Mahdawi, the Columbia University student who was arrested two weeks ago by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents following his citizenship interview, be released from detention while his case proceeds.
abcnews.go.com/US/lawyers-c...
A judge has ordered that Mohsen Mahdawi, the Columbia University student who was arrested two weeks ago by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents following his citizenship interview, be released from detention while his case proceeds.
abcnews.go.com/US/lawyers-c...
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
From the Chinese Exclusion Act to pro-Palestinian activists: The evolution of politically motivated deportations
@us.theconversation.com
Rick Baldoz
theconversation.com/from-the-chi...
@us.theconversation.com
Rick Baldoz
theconversation.com/from-the-chi...
From the Chinese Exclusion Act to pro-Palestinian activists: The evolution of politically motivated deportations
An immigration historian says removal orders targeting student activists echo America’s long past of jailing and expelling immigrants because of their race, what they say or believe – or all three.
theconversation.com
April 30, 2025 at 3:33 PM
From the Chinese Exclusion Act to pro-Palestinian activists: The evolution of politically motivated deportations
@us.theconversation.com
Rick Baldoz
theconversation.com/from-the-chi...
@us.theconversation.com
Rick Baldoz
theconversation.com/from-the-chi...
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
Reminder that words matter. You can’t “deport” a US citizen. You might be kidnapping, disappearing, exiling, expelling, illegally removing, etc., but you’re not “deporting” a US citizen.
ACLU says another three US citizen children were disappeared from their own country today: www.aclu.org/press-releas...
ICE Deports 3 U.S. Citizen Children Held Incommunicado Prior to the Deportation | American Civil Liberties Union
Families disappeared and isolated without legal access; one child with cancer deported without medication and pregnant mother deported as well
www.aclu.org
April 26, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Reminder that words matter. You can’t “deport” a US citizen. You might be kidnapping, disappearing, exiling, expelling, illegally removing, etc., but you’re not “deporting” a US citizen.
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
Even established authoritarian regimes consider arresting defiant judges an extreme tactic—a serious escalation usually reserved for after one-party rule is firmly entrenched. Seeing a judge arrested in the US today should alarm everyone who values democratic governance. This cannot be allowed. 🧵
April 25, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Even established authoritarian regimes consider arresting defiant judges an extreme tactic—a serious escalation usually reserved for after one-party rule is firmly entrenched. Seeing a judge arrested in the US today should alarm everyone who values democratic governance. This cannot be allowed. 🧵
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
BREAKING: In a sudden about-face, a DOJ attorney saiys ICE will be RESTORING the status of thousands of foreign students whose SEVIS records were terminated w/o notice earlier this month.
The move comes amid mounting losses in courts around the country.
www.wusa9.com/article/news...
The move comes amid mounting losses in courts around the country.
www.wusa9.com/article/news...
ICE backs down, says it will restore status of thousands of foreign students
Hundreds of foreign students in the U.S. on F-1 visas said they were informed their SEVIS records were suddenly terminated by DHS.
www.wusa9.com
April 25, 2025 at 3:21 PM
BREAKING: In a sudden about-face, a DOJ attorney saiys ICE will be RESTORING the status of thousands of foreign students whose SEVIS records were terminated w/o notice earlier this month.
The move comes amid mounting losses in courts around the country.
www.wusa9.com/article/news...
The move comes amid mounting losses in courts around the country.
www.wusa9.com/article/news...
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
the govt is so clearly just grabbing at stereotypes of "latin american gang" (mostly derived from MS13, as far as I can tell?) and pasting them onto tren de aragua, even though there's no actual connection
NEW from @MiamiHerald: as the Trump admin continues to cite tattoos as evidence of gang membership, experts on the Tren de Aragua gang again confirm that it does NOT use tattoos as a means of identification.
The idea seems to have been invented by Americans.
The idea seems to have been invented by Americans.
April 15, 2025 at 7:20 PM
the govt is so clearly just grabbing at stereotypes of "latin american gang" (mostly derived from MS13, as far as I can tell?) and pasting them onto tren de aragua, even though there's no actual connection
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
JUST IN: U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen has announced plans to travel to El Salvador this week if Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was wrongly deported, is not returned to the U.S. by then.
April 14, 2025 at 3:30 PM
JUST IN: U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen has announced plans to travel to El Salvador this week if Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was wrongly deported, is not returned to the U.S. by then.
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
Websites tracking the student visa revocations and ICE abductions on college campuses
www.wearehighered.org/campus-abduc...
www.wearehighered.org/campus-abduc...
Campus Abductions — We Are Higher Ed
www.wearehighered.org
April 9, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Websites tracking the student visa revocations and ICE abductions on college campuses
www.wearehighered.org/campus-abduc...
www.wearehighered.org/campus-abduc...
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
This is exactly right. We have a duty to our students to defend their right to live and work freely and safely in the United States, and we have a duty to our institutions and communities to advocate for our own best interests. These are completely aligned.
International students will stop coming to American universities if their visas are going to be at risk. This will make our intellectual community poorer and also make tuition more expensive for domestic students.
UPDATED: At least 83 students -- at campuses for University of California, California State University and Stanford -- have had their visas revoked as of Monday evening.
April 8, 2025 at 11:46 AM
This is exactly right. We have a duty to our students to defend their right to live and work freely and safely in the United States, and we have a duty to our institutions and communities to advocate for our own best interests. These are completely aligned.
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
International students will stop coming to American universities if their visas are going to be at risk. This will make our intellectual community poorer and also make tuition more expensive for domestic students.
UPDATED: At least 83 students -- at campuses for University of California, California State University and Stanford -- have had their visas revoked as of Monday evening.
LATEST: At least 45 student visas across the state have been revoked by the Trump administration, California universities report, as numbers grow. A lawsuit has been filed in a Los Angeles federal court against DHS and Kristi Noem www.latimes.com/california/s...
April 8, 2025 at 1:52 AM
International students will stop coming to American universities if their visas are going to be at risk. This will make our intellectual community poorer and also make tuition more expensive for domestic students.
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
If this reporting is accurate, it is extremely disturbing. Sanal Edamaruku, an Indian author living self-exiled in Finland since 2012, has reportedly been arrested in *Poland* as India is seeking his extradition on blasphemy charges. He was in Warsaw to speak at a conference. yle.fi/a/74-20154223
April 6, 2025 at 3:54 PM
If this reporting is accurate, it is extremely disturbing. Sanal Edamaruku, an Indian author living self-exiled in Finland since 2012, has reportedly been arrested in *Poland* as India is seeking his extradition on blasphemy charges. He was in Warsaw to speak at a conference. yle.fi/a/74-20154223
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
The Trump administration has admitted it committed an "error" when it deported Kilmar Abrego García, a Salvadoran resident of Maryland, back to El Salvador last month.
The administration should work with the Salvadoran government to ensure his safety.
The administration should work with the Salvadoran government to ensure his safety.
April 2, 2025 at 7:25 PM
The Trump administration has admitted it committed an "error" when it deported Kilmar Abrego García, a Salvadoran resident of Maryland, back to El Salvador last month.
The administration should work with the Salvadoran government to ensure his safety.
The administration should work with the Salvadoran government to ensure his safety.
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
“Now their universities are on notice that the government is looking for a settlement that includes abridging the autonomy of centers and departments devoted to the study of the Middle East,” Professor Bali said…. “I’ve never seen anything comparable to this. This is totally unprecedented.”
Leaders of Harvard’s Middle Eastern Studies Center Will Leave
Harvard University has been under pressure by the Trump administration to follow directives related to diversity and combating antisemitism.
www.nytimes.com
March 29, 2025 at 2:46 PM
“Now their universities are on notice that the government is looking for a settlement that includes abridging the autonomy of centers and departments devoted to the study of the Middle East,” Professor Bali said…. “I’ve never seen anything comparable to this. This is totally unprecedented.”
Reposted by Connor Kopchick
We have had nearly two decades of panic about Free Speech on Campus and not a single case, not even the ones they made up, were as bad as what's happening now
This is the text of the email just sent to hundreds of international students telling them that their visas have been revoked due to activism or social media posts.
March 29, 2025 at 2:24 PM
We have had nearly two decades of panic about Free Speech on Campus and not a single case, not even the ones they made up, were as bad as what's happening now