Predictably, many of the arguments made on behalf of ceasing deportation proceedings against Mahmoud Khalil — a lawful resident alien — turn on his supposed status as a political prisoner of the Trump administration. Those making this case argue that Khalil faces the imminent prospect of deportation because he dared speak on behalf of Palestinian freedom and for the Palestinian victims of Israel’s merciless bombing campaign while he was a graduate student at Columbia University. His incredibly deep legal team is now presenting a set of familiar arguments grounded in America’s commitments to free speech. However, they do so in a manner that demands those commitments be open to virtually any speech claim. They also elide the crucial distinction between citizens and non-citizens.
The government credibly believes Khalil to be a leader of pro-Hamas agitation on Columbia’s campus. At one point, the school suspended him for his activities but then reversed its decision. He was a lead negotiator for Columbia University’s Apartheid Divest (CUAD) during its various encampments and invasions of campus property. CUAD, you will recall, extolled Hamas during its protests, celebrated October 7, and declared its encampment at Columbia a “Zionist Free Zone.” Khalil has troubling ties to the organization, which released a statement that “we support liberation by any means necessary, including armed resistance.” Juden Frei.
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