CAIR-Chicago Condemns Northwestern for Caving to Federal Pressure and Terminating Its Promise of Muslim Cultural and MENA Community Spaces
- For Immediate Release and Distribution -
(CHICAGO, IL, 12/15/25) - The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, condemns the recently announced deal between Northwestern University and the Trump Administration — a settlement that restores nearly $790 million in frozen federal research funding in exchange for a $75 million payment and the termination of the 2024 Deering Meadow Agreement.
Northwestern’s reversal represents a troubling capitulation to political pressure and a direct betrayal of the peaceful, good-faith student negotiators — including Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, African, and many other student activists — who secured the Deering Meadow Agreement in 2024 after weeks of viral anti-genocide encampments. That agreement acknowledged the legitimacy of their advocacy and included commitments to community support, including a promised Muslim cultural/Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) space that now appears effectively cancelled.
Former Northwestern President Michael Schill was later grilled by Congress for negotiating with students rather than “cracking down,” and the federal funding was temporarily frozen due to alleged civil rights violations. Schill ultimately resigned, seemingly under the pressure. CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab commented on Schill’s resignation in September 2025 stating, "Antisemitism is now redefined not just as hatred of Jews, which is something we all oppose, but criticism of Israel, which is something any person of conscience should be able to do in a free country like America."
The termination of the Deering Meadow Agreement, Schill’s public reprimand, and his forced resignation collectively signal an unmistakable pattern: students who protested Israel’s genocide in Palestine are now being punished through the rescission of the very supports they were promised.
According to Northwestern University’s own public explanation of the settlement, the school confirms that it has formally terminated the Deering Meadow Agreement and reversed all policies enacted under it. The university states: “The temporary spaces previously designated for the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Student Association and the Muslim Cultural Student Association (McSA) is no longer available for either organization.”
The planned renovation of a house intended to support MENA and Muslim students will not move forward as agreed; instead, the university now points students to “existing campus facilities” and vaguely references exploring “off-campus, privately owned locations” with alumni. The university affirms it has fully ended the original Deering Meadow Agreement and any commitments tied to it.
This decision comes at the very moment when the Trump Administration and DHS have escalated discriminatory policies and rhetoric targeting Somalis, Afghans, and other African, Muslim, and refugee communities, reviving travel-ban style measures, ICE attacks, and painting entire communities as security threats. In that context, Northwestern’s retaliatory and discriminatory cancellation of Muslim, Middle Eastern, African, and Palestinian student spaces sends a chilling message: that their safety, dignity, and rights are subject to termination.
At the same time, President Trump has targeted Somali Congresswoman Ilhan Omar with xenophobic remarks — calling a hijab a “turban” and encouraging the crowd to chant “send her back” — while forcing Northwestern to cancel MENA space in order to restore federal funding. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has called the agreement extortion, and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss has described it as blackmail.
While the university’s public statements repeatedly emphasize protections for Jewish students and antisemitic acts — protections that are important and should remain robust — there is a conspicuous silence regarding the parallel and rising tide of Islamophobic, anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian, and anti-African xenophobia that students are facing on campus and nationwide. Such selective concern amounts to institutional hypocrisy and contributes to a hostile, two-tiered campus environment.
Amid CAIR-Chicago’s ongoing federal class-action lawsuit over coercive “antisemitism” training that was required, Northwestern University Graduate Workers said of the deal “Northwestern will comply with anti-discrimination laws and with efforts addressing antisemitism on campus! While also discontinuing all race- & ethnicity-based scholarships and diversity narratives in personal statements...”
Northwestern University student Marwa Tahboub with the Arab Graduate Student Association said, “I am, like many other students I know, deeply disturbed by Northwestern’s decision to enforce the federal government’s suppression of Pro-Palestinian activism on our campus. This agreement only further provides evidence that the Northwestern administration is discriminating against certain students while maintaining a hostile and unsafe campus environment for marginalized students”.
CAIR-Chicago calls on Northwestern University to:
Reinstate the core commitments of the Deering Meadow Agreement, including support, resources, and dedicated space for Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and broader MENA-heritage students.
Issue a public, unequivocal condemnation of Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian discrimination, and anti-MENA xenophobia, acknowledging the heightened federal hostility these students now face.
Uphold students’ rights to peaceful protest and dissent, without political interference or fear of retaliation.
Engage transparently with affected student communities before making further decisions that impact their safety and civil rights.
Universities must not trade their students’ rights and well-being for funding. Academic freedom, student safety, and the right to protest genocide are non-negotiable.
CONTACT: Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of CAIR-Chicago, 202-870-0166, arehab@cair.com | Hafsa Haider, Communications Director of CAIR-Chicago, 561-317-7509, hhaider@cair.com
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