Fear Grips Immigrants Amid Trump’s Deportation Threats
In the current political climate across the United States, illegal immigrants are living in constant fear of becoming targets for Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation squads. Ukrainian refugees are on edge, uncertain whether the temporary protections they currently hold might soon be rescinded. Alarmingly, even green card holders are now questioning their safety, as recent events have sent shockwaves through immigrant communities.
The recent arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent student protest leader and a green card holder, has raised serious concerns nationwide. Born in Syria to Palestinian parents in 1995, Khalil was unexpectedly apprehended in New York City by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division of the Department of Homeland Security. After his arrest, he vanished from public view until his attorney discovered that he had been transferred to a detention facility in Louisiana, over 1,000 miles away from his Manhattan residence.
Protesters rallied in support of Khalil following his detention, showcasing their solidarity and concern for his rights. His American wife, who is eight months pregnant, reported that initially, the ICE agents accused her husband of securing a student visa fraudulently to attend Columbia University. When it was clarified that Khalil is a green card holder and does not require a visa, the agents proceeded to detain him regardless.
The Trump administration is now attempting to label Khalil as persona non grata, citing his involvement in last year’s student protests at Columbia University. Since beginning his studies there in 2023, Khalil has emerged as a vocal critic of Israel’s military actions in Gaza. During protests, he has also condemned U.S. support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his administration. Today, he is being depicted as a symbol of the expanding threats facing any legal immigrants in the U.S. who express dissenting opinions contrary to the President’s “Make America Great Again” ideology.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, vehemently accused Khalil of aligning himself with “Hamas terrorists” responsible for the deaths of numerous innocent individuals. She claimed he disrupted classes at Columbia, making Jewish American students feel unsafe, and alleged that he had disseminated pro-Hamas propaganda in the form of flyers. While she asserted that she had copies of these flyers, she refrained from presenting them to the media, claiming it was to uphold the “dignity” of the White House briefing room.
As a green card holder, Khalil is entitled to the same legal protections as full American citizens, including the crucial freedom of speech rights enshrined in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Political expression is fully protected in America, and permanent legal residents have traditionally enjoyed the same constitutional safeguards as U.S. citizens, whether they are activists, journalists, or private individuals.
During Trump’s initial term, there were early indications of a push for “loyalty tests” for green card holders. Many became casualties of the February 2017 travel ban targeting seven majority-Muslim nations, with reports emerging of border agents probing green card holders about their political beliefs upon their return to the U.S.
Now, in what appears to be a landmark case, the White House is seeking to revoke Khalil’s green card and deport him, a course of action typically reserved for permanent residents convicted of serious crimes. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has invoked a little-known clause from the 1952 Immigration and Naturalization Act, which permits revocation of a green card if an immigrant’s “presence or activities in the United States… would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences” for the nation.
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On Wednesday, Rubio told reporters, “No one has a right to a green card,” denying that Khalil’s situation was a matter of free speech. He asserted that anyone applying for entry into the U.S. who failed to disclose being “a big supporter of Hamas” with intentions to incite “antisemitic activities” on college campuses would have their visa denied or revoked. “If you end up having a green card… we’re going to kick you out. It’s as simple as that,” Rubio declared.
Khalil’s supporters gathered outside Manhattan’s federal courthouse on Wednesday, where his legal team began efforts to secure his release. Reports surfaced that since his arrest, Khalil had been denied the opportunity for private consultations with his attorneys, leading to accusations that the government was deliberately obscuring his location within the federal prison system.
Judge Jesse Furman ordered the government to allow Khalil to speak privately with his lawyers by Thursday, emphasizing the urgency of the matter. However, Thomas Homan, Trump’s “border czar,” warned that Khalil was deemed a “national security threat,” asserting, “You might have been able to get away with that stuff in the last administration, but not in this administration.”
The White House has indicated that more arrests are forthcoming and criticized Columbia University for its lack of cooperation in providing details about other student protesters they intend to detain. It remains unclear whether these individuals are also green card holders like Khalil. Nevertheless, the situation has sent a stark message to millions of U.S. permanent residents: support Trump, or risk being labeled an enemy of the American people.
