All workers in the United States, regardless of visa status, have the same free speech rights. It is against the law for any U.S. worker, international or domestic, to face legal repercussions for exercising free speech. While Trump has attempted to circumvent immigrants’ right to free speech in a few cases, previous attempts to do so have never held up in court.

Every worker in the US, regardless of immigration status, has the same legal right to join and participate in a union. See this informational page from the U.S. State Department for more information. No higher ed union members have ever reported any complications arising from their immigration status and being part of a union.

In fact, international workers hold many of the leadership positions in UAW 4811 and other UAW Academic Worker unions. Through our unions, international workers have negotiated additional rights and protections we otherwise would not have, including protections against discrimination of any kind and unjust discipline that could impact our visa status.

Higher ed workers in UAW 4811 must be compensated for any loss of pay due to issues with work authorization processing. Professional Staff, Academic Student Employees, and Postdocs are guaranteed leave to attend immigration hearings, afforded a process to seek re-employment if they temporarily lose work authorization, and have the option to bargain additional protections with UC if immigration laws change. UC must also notify our union if they learn of an immigration investigation being conducted against UAW-represented employee.

The first Trump administration attempted to slash federal research funding in every budget it submitted to Congress. In response, UAW higher ed workers from UC, including many international scholars, successfully rallied and lobbied to keep funding at fair levels.

Since 2025, UAW has joined multiple lawsuits filed by State Attorneys General and the ACLU to restore Federal research funding, resulting in permanent injunctions halting some of the Trump administration’s attempts to freeze or cut funding.

UAW represents over 100,000 workers in higher education, including tens of thousands of international scholars. This gives international scholars a powerful voice in setting national policy and opposing attacks on immigrants.

In 2017, the UAW international filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court challenging the Trump administration’s travel ban, as academic workers, including international scholars, rallied at airports around California to protest the ban. In 2018, international workers in California and Washington worked with Congressional Representatives Judy Chu and Pramila Jayapal on a Dear Colleague letter demanding that Secretary of State Pompeo restore the validity period of Chinese international students’ entry visas from 12 months back to 60 months. In 2020, UAW higher ed workers mobilized against a proposed rule by ICE to shorten visa stays for international scholars; thousands of public comments were submitted, including by the President of the UAW International. 

Regardless of your visa, residency, or family status, once in the US you have the same due process rights as a domestic scholar, which means you cannot be deprived of life, liberty, or property without the chance to defend yourself in fair legal proceedings. Additionally, you have the right to a lawyer to assist you and the right to remain silent if questioned by law enforcement.

Our union has set up a hotline to quickly refer members facing an immigration emergency to legal resources. In the event that you are experiencing an unexpected change in immigration status or any other immigration-related emergency, please call this number: 888-416-2110. You will be referred to an immigration attorney who has agreed to assist UAW higher ed workers and with whom you can have a legally privileged conversation about details of your situation. For general information regarding immigration at UC, please contact the UC Immigrant Legal Service Center at ucimm@law.ucdavis.edu or 530-752-7996. For any issues in the workplace, reach out to organize@uaw4811.org and a fellow union member will get in touch.

Finally, in our most recent contract Academic Student Employees have negotiated a legal defense fund in the event of unexpected changes to visa status. Contact your campus international office for more information.