Trump has already won the argument. Mahmoud Khalil organized pro-Hamas, anti-Israel protests at Columbia University. Under the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act, any alien "who…endorses or espouses terrorist activity or persuades others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity or support a terrorist organization" can be denied entry to the U.S. or deported.
However, Khalail is also in possession of a green card, making him a legal resident. It's a legal thicket with solid arguments on both sides, but the law, in this case, appears to favor the government.
Nadine Strossen, former president of the American Civil Liberties Union and senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), tells Reason that Trump's executive order "clearly is based on federal statutory authority, so one cannot make the argument that the president is exceeding his constitutional powers."
Politically, it's a slam-dunk win for Trump. No matter what side the courts take in this case, Trump comes out on top. However, the case must still go through the courts, and Khalil appears to have won the first round.
A federal judge in Manhattan ruled that anti-Israel agitator Mahmoud Khalil is not to be deported "unless and until the Court orders otherwise," on Monday.
Khalil, who led anti-Israel protests and encampments on Columbia University's campus, was taken into custody on the Upper West Side in New York City on Saturday. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said he was a former Columbia graduate student who "led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization."
The judge ordered a hearing for Wednesday. Khalil's lawyer also filed a motion that he be returned to New York City while the case plays out. According to ICE, Khalil is currently being held at the Lasalle Detention facility in Louisiana. Khalil's lawyer has insisted their client was detained illegally and should be released.
“The allegation here is not that he was breaking the law,” a White House official told The Free Press. “He was mobilizing support for Hamas and spreading antisemitism in a way that is contrary to the foreign policy of the U.S.,” said the official.
Can they prove it? The case will hinge on exactly how the government will try to convince a federal judge that a legal resident promoted terrorism. The nebulous charges by the White House, the State Department, and the Department of Homeland Security won't cut it in court. Government lawyers will have to list chapter and verse the specific reasons for deporting Khalil.
They are very likely to fail.
Will Creeley, the legal director of FIRE, is troubled by Khalil's arrest, as are many civil liberties groups. This isn't just an anti-Trump response. We should always worry about legal precedents that touch on civil liberties.
“The lack of clarity results in a chill on protected political expression. We’ve got concerns here," Creely said.
“It’s disturbing,” David Keating, president of the right-leaning Institute for Free Speech, told The Free Press.
Is that reason enough to allow pro-terrorists to continue to agitate and spread antisemitism? Jewish students have a different perspective.
But students who have faced antisemitic hostility on campus since October 7, 2023, see things differently. Shoshana Aufzien, a Barnard freshman, says Khalil’s deportation is completely reasonable. Aufzien, who is Jewish, says she hasn’t been able to attend many of her classes “because protesters physically impeded us from doing so or because professors have jumped on the bandwagon.”
“I don’t think anybody who is fomenting pro-terror, antisemitic, anti-American rhetoric, who isn’t a US citizen, has any inherent right to be here,” said Aufzien.
In a statement on Monday, Trump reiterated that “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity” will not be tolerated, noting that many protesters on campuses are “paid agitators.” (The Department of Homeland Security and the White House declined to comment on further actions at any other schools or how many arrests may be made in the coming weeks.)
Trump is right about "paid agitators." On July 9, Joe Biden's Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran has been funding some of the pro-Hamas demonstrations. Haines said that the Iranian regime has “become increasingly aggressive in their foreign influence efforts” and has “sought to opportunistically take advantage of ongoing protests regarding the war in Gaza.”
The government must meet a high legal bar to deport Khalil. But even if the pro-Hamas agitator wins, his cause loses. Trump will come out of this legal fracas looking strong with the overwhelming support of the American people.
The Democrats who oppose the deportation of Khalil may end up being in the right legally but cannot win anything by supporting someone who supports terrorism and hates Jews.
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