The violent state suppression of student protests that exploded under President Biden took another alarming turn under President Trump last week, when recent Columbia University graduate and protest leader Mahmoud Kahlil was suddenly detained by ICE agents and, for several hours, kept in an undisclosed location in anticipation of deportation. Kahlil, a Palestinian of Syrian nationality and Algerian citizenship, is a lawful permanent resident with a green card; he has been charged with no crime.
In fact, the only reason he was detained seems to be was that he participated in peaceful protests at Columbia against the ongoing destruction of Gaza by Israel, aided by the United States—which Trump has falsely labeled “illegal protests.”
In the wake of Kahlil’s detention—including a period in which his lawyers were unable to contact him—Trump has called for the arrest and deportation of more non-citizen protesters, Secretary of State Marco Rubio also promised more arrests and accused Kahlil of activities “aligning to Hamas” (while presenting no evidence of this), and the Justice Department is currently weighing whether anti-genocide protesters violated federal anti-terrorism laws.
The President also canceled $400 million in grants to Columbia “due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students,” despite many Jewish students taking part in the protests, while its newly formed Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism “conducts a comprehensive review of the university’s federal grants and contracts.”
No evidence has been presented that Kahlil harassed Jewish students or committed any crime. If he or the protest broke campus rules, the school—not the federal government—should respond accordingly. Unfortunately, Columbia and other universities threatened with losing federal money seem to be rolling over on the concept or free speech and abdicating their responsibility to protect their students.
While they can be deported if convicted of a crime, permanent legal residents are covered by the Constitution, and have the right to free speech, protest, and a fair trial. After a period of extreme uncertainty about his condition and whereabouts—at a time when the Trump administration is sending unnamed people to Guantanamo and El Salvador without trials—Kahlil is in touch with his attorneys and a federal judge has blocked his deportation while considering his case.
Protesting is a Constitutional right, and campus protests have a legacy in this country stretching back 100 years, with pivotal protests for free speech at UC Berkeley, which is also being threatened with funding cuts. Civil disobedience, by its definition, involves non-violent forms of protest that intentionally draw attention to a cause by challenging, testing, and even breaking laws—but there has been no evidence presented that Kahlil did any of this.
Trump’s threats of deportation, accompanied by actual arrests, go far beyond casting a chill over free speech—they are unlawful and anti-American.
