What's a green card? What permanent resident status means in Mahmoud Khalil case
Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student, was arrested on Saturday by agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, according to fellow students.
Khalil, who is with the university's School of International and Public Affairs, is Palestinian and played a significant role in last year's pro-Palestinian protests that roiled college campuses. He was among the student negotiators who'd set up encampments during the protests against Israel's assault on Gaza after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas on Israeli citizens.
He told Reuters before his arrest on Saturday that he feared he was being targeted for his role in the protests, after President Donald Trump vowed to deport some of the foreign students who'd taken part. Khalil said the university "basically silenced anyone supporting Palestine on campus," and that Trump "is using the protesters as a scapegoat for his wider agenda" against higher education and Ivy League institutions in particular.
But Khalil's attorneys say he has a green card, and he's married to an American citizen. His lawyers are challenging his detention and possible deportation.
What is a green card?
A green card — officially a Permanent Resident Card — allows a person to live and work permanently in the United States. They're known as green cards because of their backgrounds, which are mostly green and include the holder's photo, date of birth and native country.
Who is eligible for a green card?
People may apply for a green card if they have an immediate family member who is a U.S. citizen, including a spouse. Some family members of permanent legal residents may also apply for a green card. There are also allowances for widows and widowers of U.S. citizens, those who plan to marry U.S. citizens and spouses of U.S. citizens who suffered domestic abuse.
Others can apply through employers or as foreign investors. Asylum seekers and refugees, victims of human trafficking, crime or domestic violence and other people with special circumstances can apply.
People who've lived in the U.S. continuously since before Jan. 1, 1972 may also apply.
What rights do green card holders have?
Green card holders may live in the United States but are also obligated, like anyone else, to obey its laws. They also may not "commit any actions that would make you removable under immigration law."
They may work in the U.S. "at any legal work of your qualification and choosing," though some jobs may be off-limits for national security reasons.
Finally, green card holders are also "protected by all laws of the United States, your state of residence and local jurisdictions."