On March 8, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian-born immigrant of Palestinian descent, due to his organizing efforts at Columbia University against the war in Gaza. The Trump Administration equated his actions with support for Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization. He is currently being detained in a Louisiana immigration jail awaiting a March 12 hearing. Under a recent order from a federal judge, Khalil cannot be deported until the court finishes considering his lawyers’ challenge.
Khalil entered the United States in 2022 on a student visa to attend graduate school at Columbia University, and he attained lawful permanent residency in 2024. Also known as a green card, this status allows individuals to live and work permanently in the U.S. and affords them constitutional protections. The New York Times wrote that this includes free speech and due process rights. According to Khalil’s lawyer via NPR, the DHS officers told Khalil that his green card would be revoked, a process that is reserved for instances of crime or immigration fraud.
President Trump announced that additional arrests would follow as he pursues action against “terrorist sympathizers,” and anonymous individuals reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is utilizing the Immigration and Nationality Act to enact these deportations. A provision of this law authorizes the deportation of any immigrant who may cause adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States, with the argument being that Khalil’s anti-Israel protests promoted antisemitism, which is contrary to U.S. foreign policy. The day before Khalil’s arrest, the Trump administration also announced that it was canceling millions of dollars worth of support for Columbia because the school allegedly permitted harassment of Jewish students.
U.S. foreign policy toward Israel took on an active role after World War II when it advocated for Holocaust survivors to relocate to Palestine in 1946 and became the first nation to recognize Israel’s nationhood in 1948. Since then, the U.S. has mediated ceasefire negotiations in the region, blocked the United Nations Security Council from censuring Israel, provided Israel with military assistance, and sent humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
According to Democracy Fund, a nonprofit and bipartisan organization dedicated to upholding American democracy, the building blocks of a healthy democracy include equal civil rights, constitutional checks and balances, respect for the law, independent and free press, and the right to protest non-violently without fear of retaliation. The Trump Administration’s actions this year have flouted the checks and balances system, limited the press, and now, sought to punish a protester because it disagrees with his message. What is the U.S. without democracy?
