Democrats and anti-Israel activists have argued for deportation, which Hamas sympathizers claimed was unconstitutional, but immigration experts point out that the State Department has extensive authority to eliminate foreigners.

On March 8, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian-born Algerian citizen who became the face of anti-Israel protests at Columbia University throughout 2024. Infringement of his right to free speech. (Related: Border Patrol Concerns reach the lowest average in history)

“This is definitely not a matter of freedom of speech,” Matt O’Brien, research director at the Institute for Immigration Reform Law, told the Daily Call News Foundation. O’Brien, who previously served as an immigration judge, pointed to a section of the US Code that states that “the existence or activity of the US is alien alien who has reasonable grounds to believe that it has potentially serious adverse foreign policy implications on the US.”

O’Brien pointed out in particular Lewis Matthew, a 1999 lawsuit before the 1999 Immigration Appeal Committee, and argued that a letter from the Secretary of State conveyed his determination that the presence of non-citizens in the United States would have “potentially serious foreign policy implications.”

“Hamas is [Department of State] The designated terrorist organization, therefore the reason Rubio stated why he called 1227 [an immigration statute] O’Brien continued.

Talk to a reporter WednesdaySecretary of State Marco Rubio argued that the incident had nothing to do with freedom of speech, but foreigners who do not have the right to be in the United States. No one has the rights to a student visa, and no one has the rights to a green card, Rubio said.

“So, when you apply for a student visa or visa to enter the US, we have the right to deny you for practically any reason, but I think we are a Hamas supporter and we are complicit in entering our university and being upside down and clearly destroying it, which is a crime of destruction.

“If you told us that was what you were going to do when you came to America, we would never have let you in,” he continued.

Amid the Israeli-Hamas war, major universities across the United States have been overrun with left-wing student protesters sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. Mainly at the heart of these students’ protests was Columbia University in New York City, where university officials were forced to arrest New York police because they experienced extremely violent protesters.

Throughout 2024, anti-Israel protesters in Colombia illegally occupy campus property, making schools extremely aggressive It was ultimately forced You can even cancel in-person classes and cancel the university-wide opening ceremony. Khalil – Graduate students who lived in the country on a non-immigrant student visa at the time have positioned themselves early as leaders of the Colombian protests, talking to and serving the media As an intermediary Between the school and campus activists’ demands.

At the time, Donald Trump expressed little sympathy for school protesters engaged in illegal behavior. I’ll crush it International students involved in illegal activities when protesting and being elected president.

Following that pledge, he approached Halil in his university-owned apartment on the night of March 8th and arrested him. The agent informed Halil’s lawyers over the phone that there was a control warrant for arrest, and the State Department had revoked the student’s visa and green card. Khalil joined the United States on a student visa in 2022, later married a US citizen and achieved permanent legal status, court documents confirm.

A review of the Ice Detainee Database confirms that Khalil remains under the control of an agency at La Salle Detention Center in Louisiana.

after that statement The arrests support Trump’s executive order banning anti-Semitism, claiming that Halil “led activities along Hamas, the designated terrorist organization.”

Response against arrests has spread and continues. Protesters quickly gathered in New York City to support Halil after his arrest. The protest continued until Thursday, when activists stormed Trump’s tower and once again demanded Hamas supporters be released by the community.

Written by 14 House Democrats on Tuesday letter He demands the Trump administration to release him immediately. Signatories included Michigan Rep. Rashida Tribe, who was accused of her comments on the Hamas conflict by her colleagues, and Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, who was previously taken from the House Foreign Affairs Committee for anti-Semitic rhetoric.

“You can oppose his views and his politics, but there’s no evidence that he broke the law,” Democrat Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy said. Official Statement. “If it becomes common for the administration to destroy people to protest the policies of the administration, then if American citizens or residents are locked up without accusations against them just because they protest, they will not return to America.”

But immigration experts say Halil’s detention is not remotely related to his right to free speech — and the US government is acting within its power to deport non-citizens, even if they have not committed a crime.

The legal teams of Mahmoud Khalil, Ramzi Kassem (C) and Baher Amzy (L) will speak to the media outside the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse, where a hearing on Khalil’s arrest is underway in New York City on March 12, 2025.

Lora Ries, the Heritage Foundation’s border guard and immigration director, told DCNF that no criminal charges were required to remove Khalil.

“The US government has both immigration options and criminals. So far, he has been arrested and charged in the immigration context,” Reese explained. “It doesn’t matter if he’s not charged with a crime pursuing the removal of immigrants. Criminal charges are not a requirement.”

“Temporary visa holders can cancel their visa if they are not acceptable, and permanent visa holders (green cards) may lose their green card and be removed if they violate the removal site,” Ries continued. “The US government has not accused terrorism-related grounds of deportation or has not tried to revoke the green card for a long time, and that shows.”

Born in Syria in 1999 to a Palestinian family, Halil received his bachelor’s degree from Beirut, Lebanon, and later enrolled in Colombia, where he received his graduate degree from the International Public Service School last December. According to New York Post. Columbia halted him last April for his role in the demonstration, but the suspension was almost immediately reversed, according to a statement made to the media at the time.

Halil reportedly worked as a political officer for the UN Relief Agency and the Labor Bureau. This took part in the Hamas massacre on October 7th and stripped millions of funds from the US and allies after reports were discovered linked to other Islamic terrorist organizations.

It is not immediately clear that Halil, a Syrian-born man with Palestinian roots, has acquired Algerian citizenship. The Algerian Embassy in New York City and Washington, DC did not respond to requests for comments or responses if he was deported from the United States and the Algerian government is willing to regain Halil.

The anti-Semitism-monitoring organization has expressed strong support for Khalil’s ice detention, claiming that his activities in Colombia have crossed the line. In a statement to the DCNF, Betar Us pointed out that Khalil is the leader of Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD). This is an organization called “viruretly Anti-Israel” and “openly Pro-Hamas” that prohibit them from campus law and discriminates against Jewish students by posting anti-optics.

Better spokesman Daniel Levy told DCNF that his organization provided the Trump administration with documents that foreign professional terrorist students would be deemed deported. The group says it will continue to update Trump officials with details about alleged pro-aloist activities from college students.

Another group tracking anti-Semitist activities, the Canary Project, Extensive list It is believed to be an extremist activity by Halil since the Colombian protests began. The group flagged one example while Halil was speaking, and reportedly represented CUAD as a representative of CUAD, saying that “Israel attempted an armed resistance that is legal under international law, but which Israel calls it terrorism.”

It’s in the White House We discussed again By assuring that his activities justified the removal from the US, Khalil organized a protest that not only distributed Pro-Hamas propaganda, including flyers that included Hamas logo, but also distributed Hamas propaganda.

It is not yet clear whether Halil will be deported from the United States. A federal judge temporarily blocked deportation until the merits of the lawsuit were brought to court. In the social post of truth, Trump Called Halil is a “radical foreign pro-Hamas student” and said his arrest was the first of many to come.

For many activists who oppose anti-Semitism, anxiety cannot come anytime soon.

“The United States and these deportations are in many ways a test of the future of the Republic,” Levy told DCNF. “It’s great, what’s been arrested? What was the delay in which thousands of people were arrested?”

“Does America simply allow foreigners in the Middle East to destroy this country?” he asked.

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