Elder of Zyon, Mar. 10, 2025
When you read the relevant US codes, the case to deport Mahmoud Khalil is unassailable.
U.S. immigration agents arrested Khalil, a Palestinian graduate student who acted as a leader of the Columbia University group that led pro-Hamas protests.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that Khalil was apprehended “in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism,” alleging his involvement in “activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.”
What are the legal grounds for the arrest?
Khalil is a US permanent resident with a green card.
According to 8 U.S. Code § 1227 – Deportable aliens, “Any alien who is described in subparagraph (B) or (F) of section 1182(a)(3) of this title is deportable.”
The relevant part of those subparagraphs say:
(B)Terrorist activities
(i)In generalAny alien who—
(IV)is a representative (as defined in clause (v)) of—
(bb)
a political, social, or other group that endorses or espouses terrorist activity;
There is no question that Khalil is a representative of Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD.) He represented CUAD in negotiations with Columbia a number of times; he was interviewed on TV numerous times as its lead negotiator, he is described as one of CUAD’s leaders. ….SOURCE