Mahmoud Khalil Detained By ICE

Mahmoud Khalil has the eyes of millions of people on him and his situation, but this story has not received nearly enough coverage, considering how egregious and terrifying it is. For those who are unaware, Khalil was a graduate student at Columbia University in New York City who completed his education and then turned his focus to organizing and protesting the treatment of Palestine by both Israel and the United States. This past Saturday, according to NewsOne, Khalil was apprehended by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent at his university apartment.

Source: Anadolu / Getty

Tricia McLaughlin, who oversees the Department of Homeland Security’s public outreach, tried to rationalize Khalil’s arrest during a press conference last Sunday.

“Khalil led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization,” she said. “ICE and the Department of State are committed to enforcing President Trump’s executive orders and to protecting U.S. national security.”

Did you notice how broad the reasoning that McLaughlin used was? “Led activities aligned to Hamas,” what the f*** does that even mean? Sure, it is illegal in the United States to “materially support” a designated terrorist organization; however, vehemently supporting Palestinians in Gaza falls short of “material support.”

Source: David Dee Delgado / Getty

Under this ocean-wide definition, anyone speaking publicly in support of Palestine could be detained and/or deported. In this case, Khalil is subject to deportation because he is in the United States on a student visa, one that is being threatened by Trump and his cronies like “little” Marco Rubio, who vow to revoke student green cards and have them deported if they are found “supporting Hamas.”

The push to enact the new age McCarthyism is coming from all angles. Peep this asinine segment from Abby Phillips’ show on CNN.

While Khalil sits in a detention center, he has a wife who is eight months pregnant and desperate for him to return home to her. His lawyer, Amy Greer, says that she has spoken to him and attempted to visit him in the New Jersey facility that he was originally taken to only to find that he was not there and was moved to a facility in Louisiana.

Via Al Jazeera:

“This is a tactic that ICE loves to use, transferring someone to a facility that is further away from their legal assistance, community and loved ones,” said Nathan-Pineau. “It increases the psychological strain of detention.”

These Republicans are evil people, and Trump is their Satanic ringleader. To hell with all of them.