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A federal judge in New York will hold a preliminary hearing today in the case of the Columbia University graduate student who helped lead pro-Palestinian protests. Mahmoud Khalil is a lawful permanent resident who was arrested by immigration officers over the weekend. NPR's Joel Rose reports on Khalil's case and the Trump administration's threats to arrest more student protesters.
JOEL ROSE, BYLINE: When immigration authorities try to revoke a green card from a lawful permanent resident like Mahmoud Khalil, it's often because they're accusing someone of a crime or lying on an immigration application. But that is not what's happening here. The Trump administration has not charged Khalil with any crimes. The White House argues it doesn't have to.
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KAROLINE LEAVITT: This administration is not going to tolerate individuals having the privilege of studying in our country and then siding with pro-terrorist organizations that have killed Americans.
ROSE: White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt says Khalil's role in protests at Columbia University, where he's a graduate student, is reason enough to revoke his green card and deport him.
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LEAVITT: This is an individual who organized group protests that not only disrupted college campus classes and harassed Jewish American students and made them feel unsafe but also distributed pro-Hamas propaganda.
ROSE: Leavitt promised more arrests to come. She said the Department of Homeland Security is using intelligence to identify student protesters nationwide who are involved in what she called, quote, "anti-American, antisemitic, pro-Hamas protests."
Mahmoud Khalil rejects the allegation of antisemitism or that he supports Hamas. He was born and raised in Syria with Palestinian ancestry. Baher Azmy with the Center for Constitutional Rights is one of his lawyers.
BAHER AZMY: All he has ever done is advocate for the human rights of Palestinians and try to draw attention to the urgent issue of an ongoing genocide against Palestinians.
ROSE: Khalil was arrested over the weekend by ICE at his university housing. The Justice Department has not said anything about the legal authority for that arrest. But the administration is signaling that the case will rely on a relatively obscure provision of immigration law that gives the secretary of state power to remove someone if their presence would have, quote, "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States." Khalil's lawyer, Baher Azmy, calls this a clear case of retaliation for speech that should be protected under the First Amendment.
AZMY: Punishing someone, in this case, by arrest, detention and attempted removal simply because the government disagrees with the political viewpoint - that is a chilling exercise of executive power that should worry all of us.
ROSE: ICE is holding Khalil in Louisiana. Today, in federal court in Manhattan, his lawyers will try to argue he should be at a detention center near New York, closer to his pregnant wife and legal team. Where Khalil winds up could also matter quite a lot to his case because of big differences between courts in New York and Louisiana.
Joel Rose, NPR News.
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