I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and you're listening to The Sunday Story, where we go beyond the news to bring you one big story.

In a recent address to Congress, President Trump made a big claim about free speech.

I have stopped all government censorship and brought back free speech in America. It's back.

Days later, immigration agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent resident and

Palestinian graduate student at Columbia University for his participation in campus protest

against Israel's war in Gaza.

More international students who are here legally have been arrested since and face the

possibility of deportation. Some First Amendment experts have observed these detentions with

concern. Insofar as the government is going after this person, Khalil, because of ideas that he

expressed, we have a direct collision with the First Amendment.

My colleague, Morning Edition co-host, Leila Vado, wanted to take a closer look at how the

right to free speech might be changing for

different people in the U.S. right now. She wanted to hear from people who feel more freedom

to speak at this moment. I don't say that conservatives are just in general, much more willing

to speak their mind, as well as those who feel they're being forced into silence. They just sort

of shut down the

conversation by saying, I'm putting you on a list. It's somewhat intimidating. This past week,

Layla and her team at Morning Edition aired a series of conversations with educators and students,

scientists and advocacy groups and others. After the break, she joins me to talk about some of what she learned about the current

state of free speech in America.

We'll be right back.

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