Tag Archives: Syria

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

Axios: Mahmoud Khalil was arrested without a warrant, DHS lawyers say

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Immigration authorities did not have an arrest warrant when agents detained Mahmoud Khalil, lawyers for the Department of Homeland Security said in a court filing this week.

The big picture: Khalil, a leader of Columbia’s pro-Palestinian protests, is a legal U.S. resident who has been in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since last month. His arrest sparked outcry across the U.S.

Zoom in: Government lawyers argue in the filing that DHS was not required to obtain a judicial arrest warrant before taking Khalil, a U.S. green card holder from Syria, into custody on March 8.

  • The “officers had exigent circumstances to conduct the warrantless arrest, it is the pattern and practice of DHS to fully process a respondent once in custody,” wrote the lawyers in the document that was originally filed in immigration court Wednesday and submitted to federal court Thursday

  • They argued agents had reasons to believe Khalil “would escape before they could obtain a warrant” when they approached him inside the foyer of his apartment building.

  • Khalil was eventually served an arrest warrant after being taken into custody and transported to an ICE office in New York.

    The other side: The revelation contradicts what agents told Khalil at the time of his arrest and what agents wrote in the arrest report, Khalil’s lawyer said.

    • “The government’s admission is astounding, and it is completely outrageous that they tried to assert to the immigration judge – and the world – in their initial filing of the arrest report that there was an arrest warrant when there was none,” said Khalil’s attorney, Marc Van Der Hout, in an emailed statement.
    • Van Der Hout called it “egregious conduct by DHS that should require under the law termination of these proceedings.”

      Never forget: Cops lie. All. The. Time.

      Mahmoud Khalil was arrested without a warrant, DHS lawyers Trump admin lawyers say
      The revelation contradicts what agents told Mahmoud Khalil at the time of his arrest, his lawyer said.

      https://www.axios.com/2025/04/24/mahmoud-khalil-detained-ice-arrest-warrant