US researchers must stand up to protect freedoms, not just funding

Cuts to research funding impose political ideologies on science, for example, by targeting vaccine and climate research. So far, the US science community has been outspoken about the threats that funding cuts pose to health, innovation and the economy. Yet, few researchers have decried the devastation wreaked on science by attacks on civil liberties and the rule of law. Many scientists to whom we have spoken advocate for silence because they fear further funding cuts. We can similarly urge them to protect international students and scholars to the maximum amount permitted by law, and to take legal action to ensure that they receive due process.