By Farrah Hassen
Less than a week after President Trump boasted that he’d “brought back free speech,” government agents abducted a student protestor and are trying to deport him.
On March 8, without a warrant or charges, plainclothes Department of Homeland Security agents forced their way into Columbia University’s student housing and detained Palestinian student Mahmoud Khalil. They then shipped him to an immigration jail in Louisiana, impeding his access to attorneys and visits from family.
Khalil is a lawful U.S. permanent resident who hasn’t been charged with any crime. His wife, Noor Abdalla, is a U.S. citizen and eight months pregnant. “It feels like my husband was kidnapped from home, and at a time when we were supposed to be planning to welcome our first child into this world,” she said.
While a federal judge has temporarily blocked his deportation, Khalil’s fate — and the larger battle over the First Amendment — concerns all of us.
Over the past year and a half, Khalil has participated in Palestine solidarity protests at Columbia alongside students across racial, ethnic, economic, and religious backgrounds who’ve demanded an end to Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza and U.S. complicity. He’s also served as a mediator between Columbia’s administration and its students.
Khalil has called these nationwide campus protests “a movement for social justice and freedom and equality for everyone.” They follow a long tradition of student-led demonstrations, like the 1960s Free Speech Movement, anti-Vietnam War protests, and the anti-apartheid movement of the 1980s.
But repression of student activism has surged since October 2023. Khalil has faced doxxing, harassment, and smears from bigots who vilify any peaceful protests for Palestinian rights as “antisemitic” and “terrorism” — baseless slanders echoed by the Trump administration.
Many Jewish students at Columbia have joined in the protests and deny this false characterization of the movement and of Khalil, rejecting Trump’s weaponization of “antisemitism” as a justification for silencing speech critical of Israel.
Regardless of whether you agree with Khalil’s views or find them offensive, his speech is protected by the First Amendment. Political speech is at the very heart of the First Amendment, which applies to citizens and noncitizens alike.
Before assuming office, Trump made his disdain for pro-Palestinian student protestors well-known and promised his donors that he’d deport them. “This is the first arrest of many to come,” Trump said on March 10. Another White House official called Khalil’s arrest a “blueprint for investigations against other students.”
To justify deporting Khalil, Secretary of State Marco Rubio cites a rarely used and vague provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which gives the secretary of state the power to deport someone whose presence is deemed to “have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
However, the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. That INA provision doesn’t override constitutional safeguards like freedom of speech and the right to due process, which still apply to Khalil. Moreover, as Khalil’s attorneys have argued, the INA prohibits the secretary of state from deporting a noncitizen based on their “past, current, or expected beliefs, statements, or associations.”
“The Trump administration is targeting me as part of a broader strategy to suppress dissent,” Khalil warned in a letter from prison. “Visa-holders, green-card carriers, and citizens alike will all be targeted for their political beliefs… At stake are not just our voices, but the fundamental civil liberties of all.”
Khalil’s warnings could prove prescient for all of us, given Trump’s retaliation against news organizations for their coverage and threats to withdraw federal funding from universities that allow “illegal” protests, as he calls them.
Left unchecked, anyone who opposes Trump — whether on Israel or on cuts to Medicaid and Social Security — could become a target. Khalil must be freed immediately if our cherished freedoms of speech and assembly are to have any meaning.
We must all strongly oppose this profound attack on our First Amendment rights. Otherwise, that next knock on the door could be for any of us.
Farrah Hassen, J.D., is a writer, policy analyst, and adjunct professor in the Department of Political Science at Cal Poly Pomona. Born in the United Arab Emirates, raised in the United States, Farrah holds a Master’s in International Affairs from American University’s School of International Service, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2007.
R.S. says
The Intercept reports that people seeking adjustments to their immigrant status may be asked about the content of their social-media communications. This isn’t going to stop with Mahmoud Khalil. People residing here for years may have to ask for a renewal of their green card and face the same problems. And I suspect that naturalized citizens are next in line. This is most troublesome. And Trump’s pattern is to do the obviously illegal and to wait until someone has the cash to challenge him in protracted court proceedings. I wonder when he’ll jail the opposition political voices or outspoken reporters.
Marlee says
hmmmmm……didn’t Hitler and the Nazis dismantle Germany’s democratic foundations, including freedom of speech ?
Protonbeam says
This is deeply biased reporting – yes we should be concerned about the first amendment and the implications of this deportation. We should also be concerned that many “journalists” continue to use their bully pulpit to rally for political and legal causes well beyond “fair and balanced” reporting or presenting information – as is the case with this piece
Dennis C Rathsam says
Students from other countries should be GRATEFULL for America to let them in to study! But some are here only to disrupt, our country, & the students that want to learn. Since our greatest universities are now combat zones, it time to send them back. These kids have no morals, & really hate the USA. Columbia, where more than 1/2 the students are non American, has riots daily! TRUMP stepped in & refused them money, till the masks were gone, & the ring leader atessted. These kids have no rights, there not American, you want to riot, you want to beat up Jews…. Your GONE!
kola says
I assume the writer of this “article” is a citizen of the USA. Therefore, she has the right to exercise free speech. The gentleman in question is not a citizen and here on a student visa. Not a question of his rights being violated, question is “citizenship.”
Pierre Tristam says
None of the information reported in this opinion piece is inaccurate or even tendentious, as if it hid an alleged “other side” to this story. A man was arrested and is being held in flagrant violation of his rights for nothing more than expressing his views against genocide. To call outrage at his arrest “biased” reporting points to the extent to which this country has lost its compass in abject, cowardly submission to the Trump junta.
Pierre Tristam says
The commenter is inaccurate, and should not rely on a legal interpretation of the Constitution by morning morons on Fox News or the Trump junta, but on that of the Supreme Court, which in a unanimous 1976 decision held that “There are literally millions of aliens within the jurisdiction of the United States. The Fifth Amendment, as well as the Fourteenth Amendment, protects every one of these persons from deprivation of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” A 5-4 decision in 1982 extended 14th Amendment protection to undocumented migrants, which is not the case with Khalil, though it makes the point: no such thing as non-existent due process for residents on American soil, let alone green card holder. The exception is for the undocumented apprehended at the border, and even then, certain rights, though limited, apply. The rendition of Khalil violates Supreme Court precedent, for starters.
t.o. Doug says
I remember, growing up, always hearing about how important it was to let those goofy losers who called themselves Nazis march once in a while. “We may not agree with what they say”, the argument went, “but they have the right to say it. The best disinfectant against bad speech is more free speech.”
How far we’ve fallen from those ideals. While I think many of the Palestinian protester’s points are misguided and maybe even planted by those with more malicious motivations – that is no excuse for depriving anyone of their God-given rights to free speech or peaceful protest. This is supposed to be the “land of the free” isn’t it?
Jane Gentile-Youd says
We live in America. We should be concerned what is going on in OUR country first and foremost in my opinion. The attackers of October 2023 should have realized the harm they were going to cause their ‘own’ people; I don’t live in the middle east nor do I wish to. My heart goes out to everyone – innocent ISRAELI citizens as well as those innocent of all nationalities in the middle east who are suffering for the acks of insane lunatics.
However, this man truly has any brains and heart he would be caring about his pregnant wife and be grateful that he was legally admitted into the US and have respect for this country and not stick his nose where he no longer lives! Sorry but it’s time in my opinion we concentrate on the homeless in the streets, the money – houses -= healthcare and education we are spending supporting illegals,.. My husband and I have not taken a vacation in 3 years because of our high cost of living and I shop estate sales, consignment and hospice shops . I have had enough of these useless protests about foreign countries when we have severe problems right here at home. Amem. So now I guess FlaglerLive will really hate me.. Oh yes I am Jewish but one of my close friends for over 15 years is Palestenian …..
Skibum says
Think about this: at the same time that this person was thrown in jail and facing deportation by the Trump administration simply for expressing his views which are protected (supposedly) under the 1st Amendment, the Tate brothers who are facing RAPE allegations in a European country have been welcomed back into the U.S. by the Trump administration. When asked about these alleged rapists being given permission to return to this country, the convicted sex abuser felon in the WH said why not, as they haven’t been convicted of any crime. Well neither has Khalil! Neither had any of the hundreds of others who were summarily rounded up and quickly deported against a federal court’s order, all without any due process as required by law. The convicted felon in the WH has refused to allow his administration officials to publish a comprehensive list of those who were put on planes and deported to El Salvador, listing their names and alleged crimes they committed that resulted in their hasty deportations. None of this is about enforcing our nation’s laws, or making our country safer from criminals. Everything that is happening at the order of the convicted felon sex abuser in the WH is about putting fear in the minds of those who oppose him, who dare to speak out against him and the illegal and unconstitutional actions he is putting into place while bypassing Congress and defying the courts. This is what dictators due to force compliance, using threats and violence against people. It is only causing more and more Americans to rise up and fight back against his tyranny. I hope it is not already too little, too late!
Pogo says
@Jill Stein and Butch Ware will fix everything
… for sale: a bridge in Brooklyn — no refund, sold as is.
Google — it’s a thing.
Kennan says
I felt the groundwork for this this “dystopian, Orwellian”strategy to sidestep human rights, our own constitution as well as the 1st amendment; was never well observed as we demonized The International Criminal Court. The International Court of Justice. The United Nations, and Amnesty International for their findings on “crimes against humanity “ in regards to Israel.
Mahmoud Khalil is simply a human being. A green card holder. A student doing everything right within the parameters of what this country expects of its citizens. He stepped up like so many millions against an obvious GENOCIDE, both literal as well as legally observed.
Mr. Khalil is illegally arrested for acting on his 1st amendment rights and is shipped to an immigration jail in Louisiana. He now awaits his fate implemented by a government that has no legal legs to stand on. Khalil spoke against Israeli atrocities and has the wrong last name.
What started with the Biden administration now glares at humanity like a” Predator” At our door.
The 18 month genocide that has been live streamed and documented for the world to see. The cutting off of electric and water the day after October 7, 2023. He act implemented in an occupied territory for starvation purposes. Day, one. A war crime. As the days turned into weeks, which turned into months, it became obvious that Gaza was not a war. It was a
“ Murder Campaign “ Aimed at conflating Hamas with Palestinians so Israel could try to convince the world that Arabs are terrorists. It didn’t work.
Try as they might, many western media outlets, and Jewish lobbies continue to lie in the face of overwhelming facts to the contrary that destroy there”Desperate Narrative “.
The river of the blood of countless civilians, mostly children, and women is staining our doors. Barring a hole in our brains and breaking our hearts. It’s on us. Our “ Absence of Consciouse” Proofs contrary to everything we say we are as a country. This is not a Palestinian problem. This is our problem. One that we seem willing to cultivate with our support of Israel.
The long arm of illegality could very easily grow given the political climate.
Dennis Rathsam you keep pushing your racist narrative, and wanted ignorance. You’re doing great!!!!
Skibum says
American citizens should not be deceived into thinking that our citizenship is an iron shield that would protect us from the same fate as Khalil is now enduring for exercising his free speech rights that are guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Khalil is merely the “low hanging fruit”, easy pickings for the authoritarian who orders people to be locked up and facing deportation only because of speech and personal views that do not fall into line with what the authoritarian decrees. Do you think the authoritarian would simply stop his already unconstitutional arrests to silence others who disagree with him merely because of citizenship? No, once he makes that aggressive move to start detaining individuals and advocating for their disappearance, NOBODY in this country can assume they are safe and will be the exception to the rule of unlawfulness by someone who is so determined to crush all forms of dissent!
Nephew Of Uncle Sam says
Hope all of you are Voting this week, way past time to start flipping seats in Congress, YOU could be next.
Kennan says
Yeah, you’re absolutely right Skibum. I’ve been thinking about that a lot myself. I try to speak truth to power as I know you and others do. I’m a first generation American born in Washington DC, but this administration is so authoritarian that my last name could give me trouble. Syrian I won’t shut up because to me this shit’s personal, not as an Arab, American, but as an AMERICAN. What you’re saying has crossed my mind though.
Sherry says
Right On Skibum! trump gets a “Threefer” with that “Illegal” deportation!
1. He gets young people of color out of his racist “Banana Republic” and into prison (where he should be) with ZERO due process
2. He gets to beat his gross “old man” chest and “Flout” the law
3. He gets to intimidate “ANYONE” who would dare speak out against him
All obvious traits of a “Fascist Dictatorship”, complete with “Billionaire Oligarchs”!!!