WASHINGTON: The arrest of a Palestinian activist who helped organize campus protests of the war in Gaza has sparked questions about whether foreign students and green card holders are protected against being deported from the US.
Mahmoud Khalil was arrested Saturday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Homeland Security officials and President Donald Trump have indicated that the arrest was directly tied to his role in the protests last spring at Columbia University in New York City.
Khalil is being held at an immigration detention center in Jena, Louisiana, while he awaits immigration court proceedings that could eventually lead to him being deported. His arrest has drawn criticism that he’s being unfairly and unlawfully targeted for his activism while the federal government has essentially described him as a terrorist sympathizer.
A look at what kind of protections foreign students and green card holders have and what might be next for Khalil:
Can someone with a green card be deported?
A green card holder is someone who has lawful permanent residence status in the United States.
Jaclyn Kelley-Widmer is a law professor at Cornell Law School who teaches immigration law. She said lawful permanent residents generally have many protections and “should be the most protected short of a US citizen.”
But that protection isn’t absolute. Green card holders can still be deported for committing certain crimes, failing to notify immigration officials of a change in address or engaging in marriage fraud, for example.
The Department of Homeland Security said Khalil was taken into custody as a result of Trump’s executive orders prohibiting antisemitism.
Trump has argued that protesters forfeited their rights to remain in the country by supporting the Palestinian group Hamas, which controls Gaza and has been designated as a terrorist organization.
Khalil and other student leaders of Columbia University Apartheid Divest have rejected claims of antisemitism, saying they are part of a broader anti-war movement that also includes Jewish students and groups. But the protest coalition, at times, has also voiced support for leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, another Islamist organization designated by the US as a terrorist group.
Experts say that officials seem to indicate with their rhetoric that they are trying to deport Khalil on the grounds that he’s engaging in some sort of terrorist activity or somehow poses a threat.
Khalil has not been convicted of any terrorist-related activity. In fact, he has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
But experts say the federal government has fairly broad authority to arrest and try to deport a green card holder on terrorism grounds.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, green card holders do not need to be convicted of something to be “removable,” Kelley-Widmer said. They could be deported if the secretary of homeland security or the attorney general have reasonable grounds to believe they engaged in, or are likely to engage in, terrorist activities, she said.
But Kelley-Widmer said she’s never seen a case where the alleged terrorist activity happened in the US, and she questioned whether taking part in protests as Khalil did qualifies.
What did ICE say about why they were arresting him?
One of the key issues in Khalil’s case is what ICE agents said to his lawyer at the time he was arrested.
His lawyer, Amy Greer, said the agents who took him into custody at his university-owned home near Columbia initially claimed to be acting on a State Department order to revoke his student visa.
But when Greer informed them that Khalil was a permanent resident with a green card, they said they would revoke that documentation instead.
Kelley-Widmer said that exchange raises questions about how familiar the agents who arrested him were with the law or whether there was a “real disregard for the rule of law.”
“I think we should be really concerned that this is happening,” she said.
What are the next steps in his case?
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a message posted Sunday on X that the administration will be “revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.”
If someone is in the country on a student visa, the State Department does have authority to revoke it if the person violates certain conditions. For example, said Florida immigration attorney John Gihon, it’s quite common for the State Department to cancel visas of foreign students who get arrested for drunk driving.
But when it comes to someone who’s a lawful permanent resident, that generally requires an immigration judge to determine whether they can be deported.
Gihon said the next step is that Khalil would receive charging documents explaining why he’s being detained and why the government wants to remove him, as well as a notice to appear in immigration court.
Generally, he should receive those within 72 hours of being arrested, and then he would make an initial appearance before an immigration judge. That could take from 10 days to a month, Gihon said.
But he cautioned that right now he’s seeing extensive delays across the immigration court system, with clients often moved around the country to different facilities.
“We are having people who are detained and then they’re bounced around to multiple different detention facilities. And then sometimes they’re transferred across the country,” he said.
Khalil’s lawyers have also filed a lawsuit challenging his detention. A federal judge in New York City ordered that Khalil not be deported while the court considered his case. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
Arrest of Palestinian activist stirs questions about protections for students and green card holders
https://arab.news/nhpwc
Arrest of Palestinian activist stirs questions about protections for students and green card holders
- A green card holder is someone who has lawful permanent residence status in the United States
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a message posted Sunday on X that the administration will be “revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported”
Trump will make Iran war decision ‘within next two weeks:’ White House
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he will decide whether to attack Iran within a fortnight, as Israel and its regional rival continued to trade fire for a seventh day.
“Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” Trump said in a statement read out by his press secretary, Karoline Leavitt.
Zelensky calls for more pressure on Russia after deadly Kyiv missile strike
He thanked Ukraine’s partners who he said are ready to pressure Russia to “feel the real cost of the war”
KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday said a Russian missile strike on a nine-story Kyiv apartment building was a sign that more pressure must be applied on Moscow to agree to a ceasefire, as Moscow intensifies attacks in the three-year war.
The drone and missile attack on Kyiv early on Tuesday, the deadliest assault on the capital this year, killed 28 people across the city and injured 142 more, Kyiv Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said on Thursday.
Zelensky, along with the head of the presidential office Andrii Yermak and Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, visited the site of the apartment building in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district Thursday morning, laying flowers and paying tribute to the 23 people who died there after a direct hit by a missile collapsed the structure.
“This attack is a reminder to the world that Russia rejects a ceasefire and chooses killing,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram, and thanked Ukraine’s partners who he said are ready to pressure Russia to “feel the real cost of the war.”
Intensifying attacks
Tuesday’s attack on Kyiv was part of a sweeping barrage as Russia once again sought to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses. Russia fired more than 440 drones and 32 missiles in what Zelensky called one of the biggest bombardments of the war, now in its fourth year.
As Russia proceeds with a summer offensive on parts of the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, US-led peace efforts have failed to gain traction. Russian President Vladimir Putin has effectively rejected an offer from US President Donald Trump for an immediate 30-day ceasefire, making it conditional on a halt on Ukraine’s mobilization effort and a freeze on Western arms supplies.
Meanwhile, Middle East tensions and US trade tariffs have drawn world attention away from Ukraine’s pleas for more diplomatic and economic pressure to be placed on Moscow.
Russia in recent weeks has intensified long-range attacks that have struck urban residential areas. Yet on Wednesday, Putin denied that his military had struck such targets, saying that attacks were “against military industries, not residential quarters.”
Speaking to senior news leaders of international news agencies in St. Petersburg, Putin said he was open to talks with Zelensky, but repeated his claim that the Ukrainian leader had lost his legitimacy after his term expired last year — allegations rejected by Kyiv and its allies.
“We are ready for substantive talks on the principles of a settlement,” Putin said, noting that a previous round of talks in Istanbul had led to an exchange of prisoners and the bodies of fallen soldiers.
Denmark to push for Ukraine’s EU membership during presidency
- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has strongly opposed providing NATO military and EU aid to Ukraine
- Ukraine had already initiated the necessary reforms
COPENHAGEN: Denmark will continue preparing Ukraine for EU membership in the face of Hungary blocking negotiations, when the Nordic country takes over the presidency of the European Council from July 1, its European affairs minister said on Thursday.
“Unfortunately, Hungary is blocking and we are trying to put as much pressure there as we can and also do everything we can to make Ukraine continue with the necessary reform work,” European affairs minister Marie Bjerre told a press conference in Copenhagen.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has strongly opposed providing NATO military and EU aid to Ukraine, saying the country’s EU membership would destroy Hungarian farmers and the wider economy.
Ukraine had already initiated the necessary reforms and is ready to speed up the negotiations.
“When we get to the point where we can actually open the specific negotiation chapters, we can be ready to close them very quickly,” Bjerre said.
Denmark will also seek to reach agreement among EU nations on the bloc’s planned 2040 climate goals.
The European Commission plans to propose in July a legally binding target to cut EU countries’ emissions by 90 percent by 2040, from 1990 levels.
Faced with pushback from governments, however, Brussels is assessing options including setting a lower target for domestic industries, and using international carbon credits to make up the gap to 90 percent.
Ukraine fears being sidelined by Iran-Israel war
- Kyiv has welcomed Israeli attacks on a country which has directly aided and provided weapons to Moscow for its own strikes on Ukraine
- The possibility of weaker support and attention from Washington, however, concerns Kyiv
KYIV: Fighting between Iran and Israel could deflect global attention from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and even bolster Kremlin’s war effort, Ukrainian officials say.
Israel launched a massive bombing campaign on Iran last week that prompted Tehran — a close ally of Russia — to strike back with missiles and drones.
The conflict has pushed up the price of oil — a key revenue stream funding Russia’s invasion.
“For Ukraine, the challenge is the price of oil, because if prices remain high for a long time, the Russians will earn more,” a senior Ukrainian political source told AFP.
However, Kyiv has welcomed Israeli attacks on a country which has directly aided and provided weapons to Moscow for its own strikes on Ukraine.
The campaign has left several high-ranking Iranian military officials dead and put pressure on Tehran’s military capacity that is likely to limit the practical support it can provide to Russia.
“The Iranian regime is Russia’s ally, so the more they lose, the better,” the Ukrainian source said.
“Overall, Israel is doing the whole world a favor. That is a fact,” the source added.
The possibility of weaker support and attention from Washington, however, concerns Kyiv.
The administration of US President Donald Trump, Israel’s closest ally, has made clear that its security priorities are the Middle East and Asia, with Europe lower on the list.
This could mean further Russian advances on the battlefield or deadly aerial attacks will meet with a muted reaction from a White House that already sees the Ukraine conflict mainly as a European problem.
Kyiv’s efforts to lobby for more support from Washington have been complicated by tense relations between Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian leader.
Zelensky recently told journalists that Trump was “obsessed with Iran” and conceded that its bombing campaign with Israel spelt risks for Kyiv.
“No one is claiming to have a relationship more important than America and Israel, but we would like to see the aid to Ukraine would not be reduced because of this,” he said.
He referred to Israel’s war in Gaza that was sparked by a deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas, as a precedent for this.
“It was a factor that slowed down assistance to Ukraine,” he added.
In an interview with US media, the Ukrainian leader said at the beginning of this month that Washington could send “20,000” missiles needed by for Ukraine to shoot down Russian drones to the Middle East instead.
Senior officials in Zelensky’s office told AFP after the outbreak of the war in Gaza that it had spurred Ukraine to focus to developing its own arms industry.
Russia has rained down thousands of drones and missiles on Ukraine since it launched its full-scale invasion early in 2022, including Iranian-made and designed projectiles.
Israel has claimed to have attacked production sites in Iran, which has also launched silos of missiles at Israel that now cannot be sent to Russia for attacks on Ukraine.
“Let’s hope that the corresponding production or transfer (of weapons) to the Russians will decrease. This helps Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
The British defense ministry said Iran’s supply of weapons to Russia could slow as a result of Tehran’s war with Israel.
But it said global focus on the Middle East could overall help Moscow.
“Russia almost certainly perceives some benefit in the conflict as it distracts international focus from its war against Ukraine,” it said on social media.
Moscow also produces its own drones and missiles, and has received projectiles from North Korea.
Ukrainian military analyst and blogger Sergiy Sternenko was among voices to issue caution against celebrating the attacks on Iran.
“Do not rush to get too excited about the strikes on Iran. Of course, Iran is our enemy, and we wish these pigs the worst. But fighting in the Middle East will inevitably lead to higher oil prices,” he wrote.
South Africa declares national disaster as flooding death toll rises to 92
- At least two school children who were washed away in a bus are among the unverified number of missing persons
- Authorities have appealed for residents to report missing people
JOHANNESBURG: South Africa was under a declared state of national disaster on Thursday as the death toll from floods caused by severe rains in the Eastern Cape region rose to 92.
The Eastern Cape government honored the victims of last week’s floods with a provincial Day of Mourning and a memorial service at King Sabatha Dalindyebo Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College in Mthatha, one of the few schools whose infrastructure remained intact.
Speaking at the public memorial service, Zolile Williams, a member of the executive council, said the people of the coastal province have not been the same since the disaster hit, and many are now faced with the challenging task of rebuilding.
“Since June 9, this province has been hit hard by unprecedented, catastrophic and unimaginable disasters, where in the whole of the province, about 92 people have perished,” said Williams.
“Since that day, the Eastern Cape has not been the same. It is the first time we have experienced so many dead bodies, some of whom have not yet been found.”
An extreme weather front brought heavy rain, strong winds and snow to parts of the province caused flooding in one of South Africa’s poorest provinces last week, leaving dozens dead and roads, houses, schools and other infrastructure damaged.
At least two school children who were washed away in a bus are among the unverified number of missing persons according to local media reports, while thousands have since been displaced.
Authorities have appealed for residents to report missing people so rescuers could better understand how many people they were still looking for.
Religious leaders from different Christian religions were among the hundreds of mourners who attended the memorial ceremony, lighting candles as a symbolic expression of remembering the 92 people who died in the floods.
In a government notice on Wednesday, Elias Sithole, director of the National Disaster Management Center, said severe weather had caused property damage. and the disruption of vital services in the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, the Western Cape, and the Free State, which prompted South Africa to declare a national state of disaster.
The declaration allows the government to release funding for relief and rehabilitation and will remain in place until it lapses or until the conditions can no longer be categorized as such and is revoked by the head of the center.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently visited the town of Mthatha, in Eastern Cape province, where the floods hit hardest.
Many of the Eastern Cape flood victims lived on floodplains close to rivers. Government officials said poor neighborhoods with informal dwellings were most severely impacted. Authorities have been criticized for the rescue response but also for the state of the infrastructure in the area.
