President Donald Trump “weaponize[d] immigration law” against a Columbia University grad student protestor facing deportation, a new court filing alleges.
In an amended habeas petition, detained Columbia student activist Mahmoud Khalil accused President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio of abusing the power of the federal government to send a political message.
Per Khalil’s attorneys, the Trump administration engaged in “targeted, retaliatory detention and attempted removal of a student protestor because of his constitutionally protected speech.”
“Neither Secretary Rubio nor any other government official has alleged that Mr. Khalil has committed any crime or, indeed, broken any law whatsoever,” the petition claimed, noting that Rubio’s determination alone triggered his arrest.
Khalil was arrested last weekend by Department of Homeland Security officers who initially told him his student visa was revoked. When Khalil presented his green card, they told him that, too, had been revoked, without so much as a hearing.
Khalil alleges that his arresting officers “never showed him a warrant” when they arrested him in the lobby of the Columbia University-owned student housing he lived in
After an initial petition was filed, Khalil was moved by authorities to Louisiana – a state within the more conservative and Trump-friendly Fifth Circuit Court – in what his attorneys called blatant “retaliation and punishment for Mr. Khalil’s protected speech.” Ahead of the amended petition, a judge put the Trump administration’s attempt to deport Khalil on pause on Wednesday.
The Trump administration has taken an unusual interest in Khalil’s removal, the filing alleges, with Khalil claiming that the White House requested an update from agents while he was in detention. The president made it clear earlier this week that “many” more student activists would face arrest or deportation, too, for pro-Palestinian speech.
At least one other Columbia student, Leqaa Kordia, was arrested for overstaying a visa this week after participating in the Gaza solidarity encampments, DHS announced Friday.
