Latest news with #RubioDetermination
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Detained Columbia graduate describes ‘visceral' harm of missing son's birth
Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over his campus activism, said he has suffered 'visceral' harm after missing the birth of his son while in federal custody. 'The most immediate and visceral harms I have experienced directly relate to the birth of my son, Deen. Instead of holding my wife's hand in the delivery room, I was crouched on a detention center floor, whispering through a crackling phone line as she labored alone,' Khalil, a green-card holder, wrote in court documents filed Thursday. 'I listened to her pain, trying to comfort her while 70 other men slept around me,' he added. The Trump administration said it plans to revoke Khalil's legal status and urged him to deport himself voluntarily, according to reports from The Associated Press. Khalil was denied permission to go to the birth of his first child last month. Secretary of State Marco Rubio initiated removal efforts for Khalil in March, citing a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act over the government's allegation that he participated in pro-Hamas rhetoric at campus protests amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. 'To not be able to see them, hold them, speak with them freely, enjoy everything I imagined our first days as a family would be like, is devastating. Worst still is knowing that they must face all the fear and notoriety of this case without me,' Khalil wrote in this week's court documents. 'The Rubio Determination is casting a shadow of suspicion across our entire family. I could never have imagined this would happen, and it is horrifying to experience this as a husband and father,' he added. Khalil, in the court filings, denied accusations that he supports Hamas but questioned the Israeli government's strikes on 'innocent Palestinians.' Democrats and advocacy organizations have urged officials to immediately release Khalil, alleging that his constitutional right to free speech has been ignored. 'This arrest is unprecedented, illegal, and un-American. The federal government is claiming the authority to deport people with deep ties to the U.S. and revoke their green cards for advocating positions that the government opposes. To be clear: The First Amendment protects everyone in the U.S. The government's actions are obviously intended to intimidate and chill speech on one side of a public debate,' Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, said in a statement. The State Department did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Detained Columbia graduate describes ‘visceral' harm of missing son's birth
Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia graduate detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over his campus activism, said he has suffered 'visceral' harm after missing the birth of his son while in federal custody. 'The most immediate and visceral harms I have experienced directly relate to the birth of my son, Deen. Instead of holding my wife's hand in the delivery room, I was crouched on a detention center floor, whispering through a crackling phone line as she labored alone,' Khalil, a green card holder, wrote in court documents filed Thursday. 'I listened to her pain, trying to comfort her while 70 other men slept around me,' he added. The Trump administration said it plans to revoke Khalil's legal status and urged him to self deport, according to reports from the Associated Press. Khalil was denied permission to go to the birth of his first child last month. Secretary of State Marco Rubio initiated removal efforts for Khalil in March citing a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act over the government's allegation that he participated in pro-Hamas rhetoric at campus protests amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. 'To not be able to see them, hold them, speak with them freely, enjoy everything I imagined our first days as a family would be like, is devastating. Worst still is knowing that they must face all the fear and notoriety of this case without me,' Khalil wrote in this week's court documents. 'The Rubio Determination is casting a shadow of suspicion across our entire family. I could never have imagined this would happen, and it is horrifying to experience this as a husband and father,' he added. Khalil, in the court filings, denied accusations that he supports Hamas but questioned the Israeli government's strikes on 'innocent Palestinians.' Democrats and advocacy organizations have urged officials to immediately release Khalil, alleging that his constitutional right to free speech has been ignored. 'This arrest is unprecedented, illegal, and un-American. The federal government is claiming the authority to deport people with deep ties to the U.S. and revoke their green cards for advocating positions that the government opposes. To be clear: The First Amendment protects everyone in the U.S. The government's actions are obviously intended to intimidate and chill speech on one side of a public debate,' Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project said in a statement. The State Department did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Georgetown fellow detained over alleged Hamas ties was targeted for wife's Palestinian heritage: Lawsuit
The Trump administration appears to be targeting a Georgetown University fellow due to his wife's identity as a Palestinian and her constitutionally protected speech, a lawsuit alleges. On March 17, Badar Khan Suri, a visiting scholar with lawful status, was arrested outside of his apartment building and charged with removability and detained, according to a complaint obtained by ABC News. The Department of Homeland Security alleges Suri was spreading Hamas propaganda and accused him of having ties to the terror group. "This was done pursuant to a policy to retaliate against and punish noncitizens like Mr. Suri solely for their family ties to those who may have either expressed criticism of U.S. foreign policy as it relates to Israel," attorneys representing Suri said in the complaint. Suri's wife is a U.S. citizen, his attorneys said. On Monday, according to the complaint, law enforcement agents who identified themselves as members of DHS, told Suri that the government had revoked his visa and did not permit Suri's wife to hand over his passport and other documents. "The agents had face coverings and Ms. Saleh could only see their eyes," attorneys said in the complaint. Two hours after he was removed, Suri called his wife to let her know he was being transferred to a detention center in Farmville, Virginia, his attorneys said. "The Rubio Determination and the government's subsequent actions... and plans to whisk him 1,600 miles away in the same manner as the government did in the case of Mr. Mahmoud Khalil, isolating him from his wife, children, community and legal team, are plainly intended as retaliation and punishment for Mr. Suri's protected speech," the complaint says, referring to the recent arrest of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil. MORE: Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil calls himself a 'political prisoner' in new letter Attorneys for Suri are requesting the court in Alexandria, Virginia, to assume jurisdiction and vacate the Trump administration's "unlawful policy of targeting noncitizens for removal based on First Amendment-protected speech advocating for Palestinian rights/and or their family relationships." DHS said Suri was "actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media," according to a statement. The department alleges Suri had close connections to a "known or suspected terrorist" who is a senior adviser to Hamas. Suri's attorneys have not yet commented on the allegations to ABC News. Georgetown University said Suri is an Indian national who was granted a visa to enter the United States to continue his doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan. "We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention," the university said in a statement. "We support our community members' rights to free and open inquiry, deliberation and debate, even if the underlying ideas may be difficult, controversial or objectionable. We expect the legal system to adjudicate this case fairly." Georgetown fellow detained over alleged Hamas ties was targeted for wife's Palestinian heritage: Lawsuit originally appeared on
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mahmoud Khalil's lawyers petition for the Columbia activist's immediate release
The arrest of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was a "targeted, retaliatory detention and attempted removal of a student protestor because of his constitutionally protected speech," his attorneys said Thursday in a new petition seeking his immediate release. Khalil, a leader of the Columbia University encampment protests last spring, was detained on March 8 and is being held in Louisiana as of Thursday. He possesses a green card and has not been charged with a crime. Officials from President Donald Trump's administration have said Khalil was detained for his purported support of Hamas. But Baher Azmy, one of Khalil's lawyers, called his client's alleged alignment with Hamas "false and preposterous." MORE: Activist Mahmoud Khalil asked Columbia University for legal support day before ICE arrest, his wife says His lawyers argued in their petition that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had determined that Khalil's presence in the United States would have potentially serious foreign policy consequences based on lawful activity -- namely his participation in protests and his statements about Israel. "Neither Secretary Rubio nor any other government official has alleged that Mr. Khalil has committed any crime or, indeed, broken any law whatsoever," the amended petition said. MORE: Experts say Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder, can't be deported without due process "The Rubio Determination and the government's subsequent actions, including its ongoing detention of Mr. Khalil in rural Louisiana, isolating him from his wife, community, and legal team, are plainly intended as retaliation and punishment for Mr. Khalil's protected speech and intended to silence, or at the very least restrict and chill, his speech now and in the future, all in violation of the First Amendment," it continued. His lawyers conceded Khalil is "an outspoken student activist" who called Israel's actions in Gaza "genocide," but they also said he has been "committed to peaceful protest." Khalil was taken from New York to New Jersey following his arrest. He was later transferred to Louisiana. The complaint described a process in which "Mr. Khalil felt as though he was being kidnapped. He was reminded of prior experience fleeing arbitrary detention in Syria." The petition claims that the arrest violated Khalil's First and Fifth Amendment rights, as well as the Administrative Procedure Act. MORE: 98 protesters arrested at Trump Tower sit-in for detained activist Mahmoud Khalil At least 98 people were arrested at a protest in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City calling for Khalil's release earlier in the day on Thursday. Separately, Columbia University announced Thursday that students who occupied the campus' Hamilton Hall during pro-Palestinian protests last spring have been expelled, been suspended for several years or had their degrees temporarily revoked. Khalil is set to appear before an immigration judge on March 27. Mahmoud Khalil's lawyers petition for the Columbia activist's immediate release originally appeared on
