On Tuesday, the American police arrested a number of participants in a demonstration that came out in protest against the arrest of the student Mahmoud Khalil, because of his activity in the advisory student movement of Palestine, as well as beating others, according to the Associated Press.
The arrest of the student Mahmoud Khalil
Khalil had participated in the leadership of the student protests at the University of Colombia, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, and the federal authorities for migration arrested him, noting that this was done based on an order issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to cancel his permanent residence card, the Green Card, according to his lawyer.
The arrest of Khalil is the latest escalation in the Trump campaign, which he described as the first arrests as part of a broader campaign to confront the demonstrations supporting the Palestinians in American universities. The president had recently pledged to deport foreign students and imprison the instigators involved in illegal protests.
On Monday evening, hundreds of demonstrators went out to the lower streets of Manhattan, carrying banners calling for the release of Khalil, according to CNN.
As for Khalil, he finished his studies in a master’s degree last December, and he was at the forefront of the anti -war student movement at Columbia University last year, and he was among the students who underwent investigations by a new university committee that brought disciplinary accusations against dozens of students because of their pro -Palestinians, according to the Associated Press.
Khalil’s lawyer, Amy Ghrir, criticized the arrest of her client, saying: Mahmoud’s detention by the immigration authorities comes within the campaign of repression by the US government against student activity and freedom of political expression, especially against Colombia University students who criticized the Israeli aggression on Gaza.
Informed sources reported that Khalil is currently being held at a detention center in Gina, Louisiana, and his lawyers have demanded the issuance of an order to return him to New York, considering that his transfer to Louisiana hinders the possibility of communicating with his lawyer and family members.
Details of arrest and deportation procedures
Khalil was arrested by agents from the Ministry of Internal Security wearing civilian clothes in the university’s residential building, where he lives with his wife, an American citizen, according to a group of writers against the war on Gaza.
According to the group, internal security agents informed Khalil that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs canceled his student visa, although he did not hold a student visa, but rather a permanent permanent residence card, Green Card, and when his wife showed the residence card for officers, one of them seemed confused and said on the phone: He holds a permanent residence card! “, According to the group’s statement.
The statement added: After a moment, the clients said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also canceled his permanent residence card, and when his lawyer requested a copy of the arrest warrant via e -mail, one of the customers closed the phone.
Columbia University confirmed in a statement on Sunday that there are reports that there are elements of the immigration authorities near the campus, stressing that it is committed and will continue to adhere to the law.
The law gives the administration broad powers
The Trump administration was based on the arrest of Khalil to the Immigration and Nationality Law, which gives it a broad authority to determine who could be deported.
The law states that any foreigner considers the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that his presence or activities in the United States may lead to serious consequences for US foreign policy that is vulnerable to deportation.
A senior official in the Ministry of Internal Security said that this item was the legal basis for the arrest of Khalil, noting that he does not rule out its use in other cases in the future.
John Sanduig, the former Acting Director of the American Immigration and Customs Agency (ICE), said that resorting to this item to deport a person with a permanent residence card is very rare, and is often associated with other accusations, such as making false information in the request to obtain the grain card or not to disclose links to a terrorist organization.
Yesterday, a federal judge in New York issued a decision prohibiting the administration of President Donald Trump from deporting Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested on Saturday evening, until a hearing was held on Wednesday, according to court documents.
The court’s decision issued yesterday, Monday, stated: to preserve the jurisdiction of the court until the decision is decided, the applicant may not be deported from the United States unless the court issues a decision other than that.
Angry reactions and calls for his release
The University of Colombia witnessed wide student protests last year against the war on Gaza, and inspired similar demonstrations in other universities inside and outside the United States, and last April, the protesters seized a building on the campus, which resulted in the arrest of dozens, before the court dropped some charges later on them.
A number of activists and civil rights organizations denounced the arrest of Khalil, as the American Union for Civil Liberties described this measure as unprecedented, illegal, and contrary to American values.
For her part, Donna Lieberman, Executive Director of the Union of Civil Liberties in New York, described the matter as returning to mind the practices of McCra, adding: The authorities claim that his opposition to Israeli policies in Palestine is a reason for his deportation, and this is simply illegal.
In a strongly worded statement, the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) said that this arrest represents an attack on the right to freedom of expression, and represents a targeting of the Palestinian identity in the United States.
The Trump administration raises its campaign against the voices supporting the Palestinians
Columbia University is the first goal in Trump’s campaign to punish universities that tolerate anti -Semitism, as he put it, in the aftermath of the Israeli war on Gaza.
The US president said in a post on social media on Monday that his administration was working to deport all sympathizers of terrorists from the country and will not return again.
Trump also signed an executive order aimed at combating anti -Semitism in universities, by allowing student visas and strict monitoring of academic activities.
Meanwhile, legal experts have expressed concerns that these measures may pose a serious threat to freedom of expression and constitutional rights.
For his part, Professor Robert Cohen, a specialist in the history of student movements in the United States, said that generalizing the idea that all demonstrators are supporters of Hamas is a serious and misleading simplification.
Meanwhile, efforts continue to release Khalil, as his colleagues and activists described his arrest as a message of intimidation for everyone, stressing that if this happens to one of our best leaders, it can happen to anyone else.
