There has been a flood of coverage of the case of Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested and shipped to Louisiana after the Trump administration stripped him of his status as a U.S. legal permanent resident. His crime was standing against the slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza and organizing protests at Columbia University in New York.
The Trump administration declared that he was a supporter of Hamas, the Palestinian resistance movement that the president has labeled a terrorist organization. Despite their press conferences and snatching a man out of his home, nothing has been presented to prove the charges against this graduate student from Syria.
“Without any warrants or charges, plainclothes immigration agents arrested him for exercising his First Amendment rights and participating in pro-Palestine student protests at Columbia University. Refusing to identify themselves, the agents even threatened to arrest his wife, a U.S. citizen who is eight months pregnant,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
“Federal agents first told Khalil that the State Department revoked his student visa. When they were told that he was actually a legal permanent resident with a green card, the agents were confused but then said the State Department ‘revoked that, too.’
They hung up on Khalil’s attorney who demanded a warrant. Then the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) effectively disappeared Khalil for days, denying him access to legal counsel and to family visitation,” she said.
“These are illegal violations of Khalil’s constitutional rights to free speech and due process, and this is a threat to all Americans who engage in political protest. Trump warned: ‘This is the first arrest of many to come,’ saying he plans to imprison and deport more students involved in protests.
We cannot be silent in the face of this lawless abuse of power. We cannot allow fascist targeting of people for expressing their political opinion,” the Palestinian American lawmaker from Michigan added.
Why should you be concerned? “The right to dissent is a foundation of democracy. Criminalizing protest is not only intended to silence the U.S. solidarity movement with Palestine but is also a threat to all Americans who dare to speak out against our government,” said Rep. Tlaib.
“Since last spring’s campus protests, when police arrested over 3,500 students across the country, universities have put in place new rules to suppress dissent, surveil students, and increase campus collaboration with law enforcement.
“Now the new presidential administration could further endanger students with visas, the 13 million green card holders in our country, and even U.S. citizens.
In a New York Times article titled, ‘This is the greatest threat to free speech since the Red Scare,’ Michelle Goldberg writes: ‘a government this willing to disregard the First Amendment is a danger to us all.’ ”
Zionist groups are driving the president’s actions and are determined to protect Israel and her genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. They have no moral conscience and there are no limits to what they will do and how they will use government to achieve their aims.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights reported sending letters to 60 institutions of higher education warning them of potential enforcement actions if they do not fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus, including uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities.
The letters are addressed to all U.S. universities that are presently under investigation for Title VI violations relating to antisemitic harassment and discrimination, said the agency President Trump is gutting.
“The department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.
“U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal antidiscrimination laws.”
It’s ironic that the Education Department’s civil rights office is being used to send out these letters as it is being gutted by the Trump administration.
The White House wants to kill any criticism of Israel. These moves are designed to shut people down and shut people up. These federal tactics come alongside state and local laws that essentially make it illegal to criticize Israel under threat of losing jobs, contracts and other things that tax-paying Americans have a right to.
U.S. citizens have lost their jobs, their reputations and opportunities because they were involved in protests, which are supposed to be cherished under the Constitution. Pressure from Jewish groups has made anyone who dares challenge Israeli slaughter and wrongdoing a potential target.
