2 h. ago There can be no ‘Israel exception’ for free speech | Kenneth Roth

Trump should reverse his misguided effort to deport Mahmoud KhalilThe Trump administration’s threatened deportation of Mahmoud Khalil seems to reflect a dangerous disregard for freedom of expression – a blatant example of official censorship to curb criticism of Israel.Khalil was a recent graduate of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He holds a green card, giving him permanent residence status, and is married to a US citizen. They are expecting their first child soon. Immigration agents arrested him last week in his university housing and sent him for detention from New York City to Louisiana. He had been a leader of protests against Israeli war crimes in Gaza. Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago White House asked for update after ‘retaliatory’ arrest of Columbia grad Mahmoud Khalil, his lawyers say

Attorneys argue Trump administration violated Khalil’s First Amendment rights by retaliating against constitutionally protected speech

Events

2 h. ago Mahmoud Khalil ‘felt as though he was being kidnapped’, lawyers say

Lawyers demand in updated lawsuit that Columbia University graduate be released from custodyMahmoud Khalil felt as though he was being kidnapped when he was handcuffed and shackled and rushed from New York to immigration detention in Louisiana last weekend, his lawyers wrote in an updated lawsuit demanding that the Columbia University graduate be released from custody immediately.The activist has told his lawyers that agents who arrested him at his university housing last Saturday night, in front of his eight-month pregnant wife, never identified themselves. Continue reading...

Events

4 h. ago Mahmoud Khalil ‘felt as though he was being kidnapped’, lawyers write in new filing

Lawyers demand in updated lawsuit that Columbia University graduate student be released from custodyMahmoud Khalil felt as though he was being kidnapped when he was handcuffed and shackled and rushed from New York to immigration detention in Louisiana last weekend, his lawyers wrote in an updated lawsuit demanding that the Columbia University graduate student be released from custody immediately.The activist has told his lawyers that agents who arrested him at his university housing last Saturday night, in front of his eight-month pregnant wife, never identified themselves. Continue reading...

Events

5 h. ago Deporting speakers over supposed ‘propaganda’ is a stock authoritarian move | Sarah McLaughlin

You don’t need to hold sympathy for Mahmoud Khalil’s views to see why his targeting is an immense threat to free expressionThe dust is starting to settle on the conflicting reports emerging after immigration officers’ arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University protest leader and green card holder, last weekend – and Americans should be alarmed by the similarities to authoritarian regimes’ speech policing.The White House has confirmed the arrest took place under a law granting the secretary of state unilateral power to act when given “reasonable ground to believe” an immigrant’s “presence or activities in the United States would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences” for the country. Continue reading...

Culture

6 h. ago Why was Mahmoud Khalil arrested and why is it such a big deal?

The Palestinian activist’s arrest has sent shockwaves through US civil society because of its apparent ramifications for immigration and free speech. Here’s what you need to know Continue reading...

Economics

18 h. ago Mahmoud Khalil sues Columbia and House Republicans over student records as university announces expulsions over protests

Federal lawsuit alleges university’s collusion with GOP’s campaign to crush First Amendment-protected dissent over Gaza protests

Politics

24 h. ago Almost 100 arrested during protest occupying Trump Tower over Mahmoud Khalil

Demonstrators led by Jewish Voice for Peace demanding release of Palestinian activist stood in US president’s New York City buildingProtesters organized by a progressive Jewish group occupied the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City on Thursday to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian Columbia University student held by US immigration authorities, and nearly 100 were arrested.Chanted slogans included: “Free Mahmoud, free them all” and: “Fight Nazis, not students.” Continue reading...

Events

25 h. ago Chaos as protesters storm Trump Tower demanding release of Columbia grad student Mahmoud Khalil

Police, who were staged inside and outside the Fifth Avenue building ahead of the demonstration, began arresting protesters after warning them to leave.

Events

26 h. ago Columbia graduate detained by Ice was respected British government employee

Mahmoud Khalil described by former colleague at UK office for Syria as well liked and extensively vettedA detained Columbia University graduate threatened with deportation after the Trump administration claimed he poses a risk to US foreign policy is a former employee of the British government who was extensively vetted before working at the embassy in Beirut.Mahmoud Khalil, a recent graduate from a Columbia University master’s programme, was arrested at home on 9 March as he returned with his wife from a dinner to break their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Continue reading...

Politics

32 h. ago The ADL and the Heritage Foundation are helping to silence dissent in America | Ahmed Moor

Tax-exempt special interest groups like lobbyists and non-profits are exercising power with little democratic oversightThe repression that began under the Biden administration has accelerated under Trump. Mahmoud Khalil’s detention by federal agents – reportedly Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers – despite his legal, permanent resident status will probably have its intended effect. People will speak up less; their fear of the irreversible harm meted out by a vengeful state is justified. Now we are all left to contend with the wreckage of the first amendment to the US constitution, which used to guarantee the right to speech in this country.Responsibility for the erosion of our rights is attributable – in part – to the bipartisan embrace of the non-governmental, non-profit sector. That’s because from the 1940s onward, the federal government has ceded much state authority to philanthropies and non-profits. Those groups, in turn, have acted to craft policy – everything from h...

Politics

47 h. ago US relies on rare foreign policy provision to try to deport Mahmoud Khalil

Court document claims ‘potentially serious foreign policy consequences’ amid outcry over Palestinian activist’s arrestThe US government is relying on a rarely used provision of the law to try to deport a prominent Palestinian activist who recently completed his graduate studies at Columbia University, where he was a leader in last year’s campus protests.A government charging document addressed to Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent US resident and green card holder who is currently being held in a Louisiana detention center, said that secretary of state Marco Rubio “has reasonable ground to believe that your presence or activities in the United States would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States”. Continue reading...

Events

47 h. ago Mahmoud Khalil lawyers say activist being punished for free speech as hundreds protest against detention – live

Actor Susan Sarandon among demonstrators calling for pro-Palestinian activist’s release outside New York courthouseGovernment asks court to move Khalil case out of New YorkWho is Mahmoud Khalil?Congressional brinkmanship, including repeated near-misses with shutdowns and over the nation’s $36 trillion in debt, has contributed to global ratings agencies’ moves to downgrade the US federal government’s once-pristine credit rating, reports Reuters.Democrats have long chided Republicans for threatening or voting for government shutdowns, and Republicans were quick to call them out for considering votes that could risk one. Continue reading...

Society

47 h. ago Hundreds rally for Mahmoud Khalil outside courthouse as lawyers condemn ‘unprecedented’ case against Columbia student

Trump administration’s threat to deport Columbia graduate for involvement in Gaza protests draws fears of a crackdown on dissent, Alex Woodward and Richard Hall report from federal court in Manhattan

Society

50 h. ago Who is Mahmoud Khalil? The detained Columbia graduate praised as steady negotiator

Key figure in pro-Palestinian campus protests arrested by Ice known for kindness and skill for de-escalationMahmoud Khalil, the recent Columbia University graduate who was detained by Ice on Saturday night, was linked by Donald Trump, without evidence, to “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity”. But for those who know him, Khalil was a student, a steady negotiator and a leader whose activism placed him at the center of a national movement for Palestinian solidarity.Khalil, a Palestinian green card holder who is currently in immigration detention in Louisiana, was a lead negotiator for Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a role that thrust him into the spotlight during the pro-Palestinian encampment protests last spring – long before his high-profile arrest. He gained a reputation among fellow protesters as a principled and strategic organizer, earning praise for his ability to de-escalate tense situations. Continue reading...

Politics

51 h. ago Canada to impose 25% tariffs on nearly $30bn in US imports as trade war flares – live

Canadian foreign minister condemns ‘unjustified’ trade war and condemns ‘Trump’s talks of annexing our country through economic coercion’ Congressional brinkmanship, including repeated near-misses with shutdowns and over the nation’s $36 trillion in debt, has contributed to global ratings agencies’ moves to downgrade the US federal government’s once-pristine credit rating, reports Reuters.Democrats have long chided Republicans for threatening or voting for government shutdowns, and Republicans were quick to call them out for considering votes that could risk one. Continue reading...

Economics

51 h. ago Federal judge to hold hearing over detention of activist Mahmoud Khalil

Columbia grad and Palestinian activist, who has a green card, was arrested on Saturday by immigration officialsA Manhattan federal judge is set to hold a hearing on Wednesday morning over the arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent Palestinian activist and recent graduate of Columbia University.Khalil, a permanent US resident with a green card, was arrested and taken into custody on Saturday night by federal immigration authorities at his university-owned apartment. His lawyer says that the authorities were acting on a state department order to revoke his green card. Continue reading...

Events

52 h. ago Canada to impose 25% tariffs on nearly $30b in US imports as trade war flares – live

Canada’s finance minister says his country will tomorrow retaliate with levies on almost $30b in imports from the USCongressional brinkmanship, including repeated near-misses with shutdowns and over the nation’s $36 trillion in debt, has contributed to global ratings agencies’ moves to downgrade the US federal government’s once-pristine credit rating, reports Reuters.Democrats have long chided Republicans for threatening or voting for government shutdowns, and Republicans were quick to call them out for considering votes that could risk one. Continue reading...

Economics

53 h. ago Wife of Columbia graduate student detained by Ice speaks out about his arrest

Mahmoud Khalil was detained by Ice agents on Saturday, part of Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus protestersMahmoud Khalil’s wife, who is now eight months pregnant, issued a statement on Tuesday night after the Columbia University graduate student and activist was arrested in New York by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) as part of the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke his green card and have him deported.“I am pleading with the world to continue to speak up against his unjust and horrific detention by the Trump administration,” Khalil’s wife, who is a US citizen, said in her statement, remaining anonymous for fear of harassment. Continue reading...

Events

55 h. ago Trump is using antisemitism as a pretext for a war on the first amendment | Judith Levine

The Trump administration is not interested in combating antisemitism. It just wants to silence its opponents insteadOn Saturday night, agents of the Department of Homeland Security arrested and detained the Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil. He is still in Ice custody in a remote Louisiana lockup known for extreme human rights violations, from denial of food and water to medical “care” verging on torture.Khalil, a Palestinian Syrian, emerged as a leader in Columbia’s Gaza solidarity encampment last year and a level-headed negotiator with university officials on behalf of the student protesters. Married to a US citizen, he holds a green card. Neither his American wife, who is eight months pregnant, nor his lawyers were warned of the arrest or told where he would be held. Continue reading...

Politics