Beyond Palestine: Mahmoud Khalil's arrest is more Republican censorship | Opinion
Republicans are terrified of anything that doesn't fit within their MAGA doctrine, which is why they're actively suppressing speech. It's more un-American than anything pro-Palestine protesters said.
Mahmoud Khalil and his wife, Noor Abdalla, were stopped in the lobby of their university-owned apartment building by federal officers who had followed them. What happened next, as described by his wife through a statement Tuesday, should make every American fear the lengths the Trump administration is willing to go and how much Republicans are willing to ignore.
“The officer then proceeded to say ‘We are with the police, you have to come with us,’” she said. “The officer told Mahmoud to give me the apartment keys and that I could go upstairs. When I refused, afraid to leave my husband, the officer stated ‘I will arrest you, too.’ The officers later barricaded Mahmoud from me.”
Abdalla, a U.S. citizen who is eight months pregnant, said that they were not shown a warrant, and that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers hung up the phone on their lawyer. Khalil was handcuffed and taken to an unmarked vehicle.
He would then be sent to a detention center in New Jersey, and finally end up at a facility in Louisiana. On Wednesday, a judge determined that he would stay there.
The Trump administration is trying to deport Khalil, a green card holder, saying he distributed “pro-Hamas propaganda” and participated in demonstrations that “disrupted college campus classes and harassed Jewish American students.”
But the real reason, it seems, is because Khalil dared to say something the Trump administration disagrees with. He has not been charged with a crime. The fact that this is happening should concern anyone who believes in free speech. This should not be happening in a democracy, but Trump apologists are letting it happen nonetheless.
In Trump's world, disagreeing with MAGA is un-American
Khalil, a Palestinian with Algerian citizenship, was one of the public faces of Columbia University’s pro-Palestine protests last year. He served as a negotiator between student protesters and university administration.
"We want to be visible,” Khalil told The Associated Press last April. “The university should do something about what we’re asking for, about the genocide that’s happening in Gaza. They should stop investing in this genocide.”
His visibility at student protests led to his being doxxed by right-wing activists. A day before he was detained, Khalil had expressed his fear to a Columbia University official and asked for legal help.
It appears the Trump administration is listening to these activists. In a Truth Social post about Khalil, the president called him a “Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student.” His lawyers say there is no evidence of Khalil working to support Hamas.
“This is the first arrest of many to come,” Donald Trump posted. “We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it.”
This "anti-American activity" is simply calling into question the terror inflicted by Israel in response to its attack by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023. Since that day, more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed, and about 90% of Gaza's population has been displaced.
I understand that the United States is allied with Israel. I also don't believe that anyone should be deported for speaking out against this country's complicity in the catastrophe.
Republicans seem afraid of words that spotlight agenda of hate
This isn't the only way Trump and Republicans are trying to control speech. The news of Khalil's arrest coincides with the administration's ban on nearly 200 words related to "wokeness." That list includes words and phrases like "LGBTQ," "racism," "diversity" and "women."
The administration is also targeting books that they do not agree with. In February, actress Julianne Moore learned that her a children's book was selected for "further review" because it potentially contains "discriminatory equity ideology topics." The book itself is about a girl learning to love her freckles.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has called book bans a "hoax."
Republicans are clearly terrified of anything that doesn't fit within their MAGA doctrine, which is why they're actively suppressing speech. I find this more anti-American than anything that the pro-Palestine protesters have said.
The only reason to ban any signs of equality is because you have no interest in others being equal.
Mahmoud Khalil's arrest isn't just about the protests. It's about whether we value free speech.
At least some people are responding with outrage.
“The unlawful detention of Mr. Khalil reeks of McCarthyism,” Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement. “It’s clear that the Trump administration is selectively punishing Mr. Khalil for expressing views that aren’t MAGA-approved – which is a frightening escalation of Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestine speech, and an aggressive abuse of immigration law.”
You don’t have to support what Khalil believes. You must, however, understand that his detention by the U.S. government for speaking out goes against the free speech values the United States claims to care for. This is just another step on the Trump administration’s path to silencing U.S. citizens.
In her Tuesday statement, Khalil’s wife described the harsh reality the two of them are living through during what should be a joyful time.
“US immigration ripped my soul from me,” Abdalla said. “Instead of putting together our nursery and washing baby clothes in anticipation of our first child, I am left sitting in our apartment, wondering when Mahmoud will get a chance to call me from a detention center.”
This should not be happening in a democracy. Unfortunately, this only appears to be the start.
Follow Paste BN columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter: @sara__pequeno