Legal Aid Group Reports Surge in Pro-Palestine Advocacy Requests Despite Trump Administration Tactics

Legal aid requests related to pro-Palestine advocacy remained elevated in the United States during 2025 despite sustained pressure from the Trump administration on universities and activists, according to an annual report released by Palestine Legal on April 21, 2026.

The organization reported receiving 1,131 inquiries for legal support in 2025, a figure below the record 2,184 requests logged in 2024 but significantly higher than pre-2023 levels. Palestine Legal stated that the 2025 total represented a 300% increase compared to its annual average before the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks and Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza.

Dima Khalidi, executive director of Palestine Legal, said the data demonstrates that advocacy for Palestinian rights has continued despite efforts to suppress it. “Our 2025 year-end report shows that while universities have largely cowered and caved to coercive pressure from the Trump administration and its pro-Israel supporters, student activists for Palestinian and collective freedom remain a model of moral conviction and courage,” Khalidi stated in the report.

The majority of requests came from students and faculty at colleges and universities, underscoring higher education as a primary site of dissent. The report also noted a sharp rise in immigration-related legal inquiries, with 122 such cases handled in 2025—more than triple the number from 2024—reflecting increased activity by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and politically motivated deportations affecting advocates.

Palestine Legal characterized the legal and institutional response to pro-Palestine speech under the Trump administration as an escalation of repression that began during the Biden administration’s handling of campus protests. The group said that “authoritarian repression … went into overdrive” following Trump’s return to office in January 2025, even as the scale of protests diminished compared to the widespread encampments and mass arrests of spring 2024.

The organization emphasized that the continued demand for legal support indicates the persistence of the Palestine solidarity movement in the U.S., which continues to protest what it describes as U.S. And Israeli actions in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran despite growing risks to participants.