Tag Archives: Mahmoud Khalil

Macon Telegraph: ‘Corrupt Kleptocracy’: AOC’s Outcry Against Trump Bill

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has raised concerns about the newly-passed “Big Beautiful Bill,” which has allocated $170 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The funding will support President Donald Trump-era immigration initiatives, including billions for detention facilities and the border wall. She warned that the bill will lead to increased ICE enforcement and negatively impact vulnerable communities.

Ocasio-Cortez strongly criticized the passage of Trump’s bill, particularly condemning its provisions related to ICE. Ocasio-Cortez warned of a potential “explosion” in ICE’s operations.

Ocasio-Cortez argued that the expansion of ICE would create a situation far worse than the current one, emphasizing that it has made the agency larger than the FBI, DEA, U.S. Bureau of Prisons, and other federal agencies combined.

Ocasio-Cortez stated, “I don’t think anyone is prepared for what they just did w/ ICE.” She added, “This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion.”

Ocasio-Cortez condemned the bill for its lack of safeguards and expressed dismay at how it may harm vulnerable individuals. She said, “People are going to die. Livelihoods gone. All to feed a corrupt kleptocracy.”

‘Corrupt Kleptocracy’: AOC’s Outcry Against Trump Bill

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/corrupt-kleptocracy-aoc-s-outcry-against-trump-bill/ss-AA1IwnAy

NBC News: Pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil released after months in detention

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Minutes after the Columbia University activist was released, the Trump administration filed an appeal of his release.

Pro-Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil was released from detention Friday evening, ending more than three months of custody in a test of the executive branch’s power to unilaterally act against legal U.S. residents.

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Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin lashed out at “rogue” U.S. District Court Judge Michael Farbiarz, saying he had no authority to order Khalil’s release.

“This is yet another example of how out of control members of the judicial branch are undermining national security,” McLaughlin said. “Their conduct not only denies the result of the 2024 election, it also does great harm to our constitutional system by undermining public confidence in the courts.”

Government attorney Dhruman Sampat had argued that Congress has given the executive branch sweeping powers to determine who could be removed from the county.

The courts should not have the authority to interfere, Sampat said.

With regard to permanent residents, this presumed “authority” is total b*llsh*t!

Pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil released after months in detention
Minutes after the Columbia University activist was released, the Trump administration filed an appeal of his release.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/rcna214163

Raw Story: Trump rebuked as judge bars re-arrest of another student activist

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A federal judge has once again handed President Donald Trump a loss in the administration’s efforts to deport international student activist Mohammed Hoque.

According to Politico legal affairs reporter Josh Gerstein, Judge Jerry Blackwell of the District of Minnesota granted Hoque’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, preventing him from being re-detained.

Hoque, a Bangladeshi national studying at Minnesota State University-Mankato involved in pro-Palestine activism, was arrested earlier this year, allegedly over the revocation of his visa. Authorities reportedly followed him home from class and arrested him in front of his family.

Blackwell ordered his release last month after the federal government failed to prove it had a political reason for locking him up and terminating his Student and Exchange Visitor Program, or SEVIS, status.

In issuing the habeas grant, Blackwell further slammed the Trump administration for targeting Hoque over First Amendment-protected political activity.

“The record separately establishes that Petitioner’s SEVIS termination violates DHS policies. The first is a policy against targeting protected speech,” wrote Blackwell. “The second is a policy that visa revocation does not justify SEVIS termination … Not only does agency policy preclude the practice, it contravenes federal law.”

Trump rebuked as judge bars re-arrest of another student activist
A federal judge has once again handed President Donald Trump a loss in the administration’s efforts to deport international student activist Mohammed Hoque.According to Politico legal affairs reporter Josh Gerstein, Judge Jerry Blackwell of the District of Minnesota granted Hoque’s petition for a wr…

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-deportation-2672387306

Guardian: Australian deported from US says he was ‘targeted’ due to writing on pro-Palestine student protests

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Alistair Kitchen says he was detained and questioned about views on Israel and Palestine before being deported from LA to Melbourne

An Australian man who was detained upon arrival at Los Angeles airport and deported back to Melbourne says United States border officials told him it was due to his writing on pro-Palestine protests by university students.

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The 33-year-old said he was “clearly targeted for politically motivated reasons” and said officials spent more than 30 minutes questioning him about his views on Israel and Palestine including his “thoughts on Hamas”.

Kitchen said officials asked him for his “thoughts about the conflict in a very broad sense”, including about student protesters, what Israel “should have done differently” and “how I would resolve the conflict”.

“It was quite an in-depth probing of my views on the war,” he said.

Kitchen said he was deported and landed back in Melbourne on Saturday morning.

Australian deported from US says he was ‘targeted’ due to writing on pro-Palestine student protests
Alistair Kitchen says he was detained and questioned about views on Israel and Palestine before being deported from LA to Melbourne

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jun/15/australian-deported-from-us-says-he-was-targeted-due-to-writing-on-pro-palestine-student-protests

Axios: Judge denies Mahmoud Khalil’s release after Trump admin submits new filing

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A federal judge has declined to release Columbia University alumnus Mahmoud Khalil from federal detention after the Trump administration submitted a last-minute filing.

Why it matters: The administration’s tug-of-war with courts over Khalil represents a historic test for immigrants’ speech rights – namely, those of permanent residents – particularly where they concern pro-Palestinian speech.

Driving the news: The federal government on Friday said that continuing to detain Khalil does not violate the court’s Wednesday injunction, because Khalil’s detainment is now based on “other grounds,” such as being undocumented when he entered the U.S.

How many millions of our $$ will be wasted harassing this poor guy and his family?

Judge denies Mahmoud Khalil’s release after Trump admin submits new filing
The Trump admin argued that the judge’s injunction “does not interfere” with authority to detain Khalil on other grounds.

https://www.axios.com/2025/06/13/trump-admin-refuses-to-release-mahmoud-khalil-despite-judges-order

CBS News: Columbia University acting president booed during graduation speech

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Columbia University acting President Claire Shipman was greeted with boos and chants of “free Mahmoud” as she took the lectern to speak at the school’s graduation ceremony on Tuesday.

Videos posted to social media showed Shipman pausing while students heckled her before she could begin speaking.

“I know that many of you feel some amount of frustration with me and I know you feel it with the administration. And I know that we have a strong, strong tradition of free speech at this university. And I am always open to feedback, which I am getting right now,” Shipman said at the start of her remarks, allowing for another round of boos after each sentence.

Later in her speech, Shipman was interrupted by students chanting “free Mahmoud,” in reference to Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student who was detained by immigration authorities in March in New York City and remains in custody in Louisiana. 

What do you expect when you suck up to Trump and help his ICE Gestapo arrest and deport your students?

You asked for it! You got it! Toyota!

Columbia University acting president booed during graduation speech, faces chants of “free Mahmoud”
Columbia University acting President Claire Shipman was greeted with boos and chants of “free Mahmoud” as she took the lectern to speak at the school’s graduation ceremony.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/columbia-university-acting-president-booed-during-graduation-speech

USA Today: ‘Spaghetti against the wall?’ Trump tests legal strategies as judges block his policies

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The Trump administration is fighting to kill 40 court orders blocking its new policies.

  • Solicitor General John Sauer urged the Supreme Court to halt nationwide injunctions against Trump policies but said if class-action lawsuits took their place, he would oppose them too.
  • Legal experts said if the Supreme Court abolishes nationwide injunctions, Trump could cut his losses by limiting the reach of court rulings that go against him.

As the Trump administration fights to kill 40 court orders blocking some of his most controversial or aggressive new policies, legal experts say the government’s strategy is to break the cases apart, into individual disputes, to delay an eventual reckoning at the Supreme Court.

One called President Donald Trump’s legal strategy a “shell game.” Another said government lawyers were “throwing spaghetti against the wall” to see what sticks.

“Their bottom line is that they don’t think these cases should be in court in the first place,” said Luke McCloud, a lawyer at Williams and Connolly who clerked for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he was on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. “They are looking for a procedural mechanism that will make it the most challenging to bring these sorts of cases.”

‘Spaghetti against the wall?’ Trump tests legal strategies as judges block his policies
Some of Trump’ most aggressive policy changes are being blocked by judges all the way to the Supreme Court. To some, the response feels like a shell game.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/05/17/trump-legal-strategies-federal-judges-injunctions/83673013007

Associated Press: Pressed for evidence against Mahmoud Khalil, government cites its power to deport people for beliefs

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A clear violation of his First Amendment rights:

Facing a deadline from an immigration judge to turn over evidence for its attempted deportation of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, the federal government has instead submitted a brief memo, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, citing the Trump administration’s authority to expel noncitizens whose presence in the country damages U.S. foreign policy interests.

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Rather, Rubio wrote Khalil could be expelled for his beliefs.

He said that while Khalil’s activities were “otherwise lawful,” letting him remain in the country would undermine “U.S. policy to combat anti-Semitism around the world and in the United States, in addition to efforts to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence in the United States.”

Pressed for evidence against Mahmoud Khalil, government cites its power to deport people for beliefs
The U.S. government has submitted a two-page memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio as its main evidence in its deportation case against Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil.

https://apnews.com/article/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-university-trump-c60738368171289ae43177660def8d34

Associated Press: A Palestinian student at Columbia is freed after his arrest at a citizenship interview

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A major win for freedom and the First Amendment, a major loss for our wannabe dictator King Donald:

A judge on Wednesday released a Palestinian student at Columbia University who led protests against Israel’s war in Gaza and was arrested by immigration officials during an interview about finalizing his U.S. citizenship.

Immigration authorities have arrested and detained college students from around the country since the first days of the Trump administration, many of whom participated in campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war, which has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians.

Mohsen Mahdawi is among the first of those students to win his freedom after challenging an arrest. He walked out of a Vermont courthouse Wednesday and led hundreds of supporters in chants including “No fear” and “Free Palestine.” He said people must come together to defend both democracy and humanity.

A Palestinian student at Columbia is freed after his arrest at a citizenship interview
A judge has released a Palestinian student activist who led protests against the war in Gaza as a student at Columbia University and was arrested by immigration officials during an interview about finalizing his U.S. citizenship.

https://apnews.com/article/mohsen-mahdawi-columbia-student-palestinian-release-dd95ffff78464df1b485d5912f1b3fcb

Associated Press: May Day demonstrations in US and around the globe protest Trump agenda

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Hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. and around the world rallied Thursday in May Day protests that united many in anger over President Donald Trump’s agenda from aggressive tariffs that are stoking fears of global economic turmoil to his administration’s immigration crackdowns.

In the United States, organizers framed this year’s International Workers’ Day protests as a pushback against what they see as the administration’s sweeping assault on labor protections, diversity initiatives and federal employees. Protesters lined streets in many cities from New York to Philadelphia to Los Angeles and held a boisterous rally outside the White House in Washington.

May Day demonstrations in US and around the globe protest Trump agenda
Hundreds of thousands of people rallied in U.S. cities and around the globe for International Workers’ Day or May Day, with the focus this year on President Donald Trump’s agenda.

https://apnews.com/article/may-day-workers-labor-unions-rallies-marches-trump-46de8196d7f01d7458c3d77ccd5e0e54