The arrest of Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil for his association with pro-Palestinian protests has become a proxy battle over First Amendment rights and President Trump's aggressive deportation efforts.
Khalil, who is in the U.S. legally with a green card and has not been charged with a crime, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the weekend.
Trump accused him and others of engaging in "pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity" and said that "this is the first arrest of many to come."
A judge appointed by former President Obama halted the deportation and set a Wednesday hearing for Khalil, whose wife is eight months pregnant.
Because Khalil has a green card, legal experts say only an immigration judge can revoke his status.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that Khalil distributed propaganda in support of Hamas, a terrorist organization, and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has the right to revoke his status.
"The Secretary of State has the right to revoke a green card or visa for individuals that are adversarial to the foreign policy and national security interests to the United States of America," she said.
Free speech advocacy groups such as FIRE, which has defended the First Amendment rights of citizens across the ideological spectrum, sent a letter to the Trump administration demanding answers.
"The statements the government has released suggest its decision may be based on his constitutionally protected speech," the letter stated. "This lack of clarity is chilling protected expression, as other permanent residents cannot know whether their lawful speech could be deemed to "align to" a terrorist organization and jeopardize their immigration status."
"The federal government must not use immigration enforcement to punish and filter out ideas disfavored by the administration," the letter continued. "It must also afford due process to anyone facing arrest and detention, and must be clear and transparent about the basis for its actions, to avoid chilling protected speech."
The pro-Palestinian campus protests in recent years resulted in more than 2,000 arrests, with some Jewish students facing harassment and discrimination. Some schools moved their classes online or cancelled graduation events, facing criticism for their failure to protect their students.
But the arrest of Khalil has provoked pushback from First Amendment advocates on the right, who championed free speech during what they saw as a crackdown by the Biden administration. Vice President Vance scolded Europe last month in a speech that accused them of abandon their free speech principles.
"There's almost no one I don't want to deport, but unless they've committed a crime, isn't this a violation of the First Amendment?" conservative commentator Ann Coulter posted on X.
More than a dozen House Democrats signed a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanding Khalil be released.
"This should scare everyone," Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) posted on X.
The Trump administration has promised to crackdown on anti-Semitism on college campuses, with the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights investigating 60 universities over allegations of anti-Semitism.
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