Posts
 |
| Probably not Ilhan Omar behind him |
Shalom Mahmoud.
Federal immigration authorities, with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer in a library, claimed they were acting on a State Department order to revoke his green card, or so his attorney, Amy Greer, relayed to The Associated Press. One can almost hear the bureaucratic machinery grinding away, indifferent to the human cost.
Khalil was ensconced in his university-owned apartment, just blocks from Columbia’s Manhattan campus, when several Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stormed the building and hauled him into custody. Greer recounted to the AP that one agent, in a phone call dripping with officiousness, informed her they were executing a State Department directive to nix Khalil’s student visa. When she pointed out that Khalil, a December graduate, held permanent residency via a green card, the agent nonchalantly declared they were revoking that too. A tidy little escalation, wouldn’t you say?
This arrest dovetails neatly with President Trump’s bombastic pledge to deport foreign students and jail “agitators” tangled up in protests against Israel’s war in Gaza. The administration has trained its gimlet eye on Columbia, announcing on Friday a $400 million slash in grants and contracts—a punitive measure ostensibly tied to the Ivy League’s supposed failure to stamp out antisemitism on campus. One might wonder if this is less about principle and more about settling scores.
Greer noted that the authorities saw fit to leave Khalil’s wife—eight months pregnant, no less—in the dark about why her husband was being carted off. “We have not been able to get any more details about why he is being detained,” she told The AP. “This is a clear escalation. The administration is following through on its threats.” Khalil, meanwhile, has been shuttled to an immigration detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he presumably sits, a pawn in a larger game.
A Columbia spokesperson, with the practiced neutrality of a tightrope walker, insisted that law enforcement must brandish a warrant before setting foot on university property. Yet they declined to confirm whether such a warrant was produced for Khalil’s arrest. The university’s website offered this gem: “There have been reports of ICE around campus. Columbia has and will continue to follow the law. Consistent with our longstanding practice and the practice of cities and institutions throughout the country, law enforcement must have a judicial warrant to enter non-public University areas, including University buildings. Columbia is committed to complying with all legal obligations and supporting our student body and campus community.” A masterpiece of saying much while revealing little.
Khalil was ensconced in his university-owned apartment, just blocks from Columbia’s Manhattan campus, when several Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stormed the building and hauled him into custody. Greer recounted to the AP that one agent, in a phone call dripping with officiousness, informed her they were executing a State Department directive to nix Khalil’s student visa. When she pointed out that Khalil, a December graduate, held permanent residency via a green card, the agent nonchalantly declared they were revoking that too. A tidy little escalation, wouldn’t you say?
This arrest dovetails neatly with President Trump’s bombastic pledge to deport foreign students and jail “agitators” tangled up in protests against Israel’s war in Gaza. The administration has trained its gimlet eye on Columbia, announcing on Friday a $400 million slash in grants and contracts—a punitive measure ostensibly tied to the Ivy League’s supposed failure to stamp out antisemitism on campus. One might wonder if this is less about principle and more about settling scores.
Greer noted that the authorities saw fit to leave Khalil’s wife—eight months pregnant, no less—in the dark about why her husband was being carted off. “We have not been able to get any more details about why he is being detained,” she told The AP. “This is a clear escalation. The administration is following through on its threats.” Khalil, meanwhile, has been shuttled to an immigration detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he presumably sits, a pawn in a larger game.
A Columbia spokesperson, with the practiced neutrality of a tightrope walker, insisted that law enforcement must brandish a warrant before setting foot on university property. Yet they declined to confirm whether such a warrant was produced for Khalil’s arrest. The university’s website offered this gem: “There have been reports of ICE around campus. Columbia has and will continue to follow the law. Consistent with our longstanding practice and the practice of cities and institutions throughout the country, law enforcement must have a judicial warrant to enter non-public University areas, including University buildings. Columbia is committed to complying with all legal obligations and supporting our student body and campus community.” A masterpiece of saying much while revealing little.
Khalil, it should be said, had emerged as a poster boy for the pro-Palestinian cause at Columbia. When students pitched their tents last spring, he was tapped as a negotiator, parleying frequently with university administrators. Come September, with classes back in swing, he told The AP with defiance: “As long as Columbia continues to invest and to benefit from Israeli apartheid, the students will continue to resist.” A sentiment that, whatever one makes of it, has now landed him in the crosshairs of a system that seems less interested in dialogue than in deportation.
Here we see the collision of ideology and power, played out on the stage of a prestigious university that once prided itself on free thought. The question lingers: is this justice, or merely the heavy hand of retribution dressed up as policy? History, as ever, will be the judge.
No comments:
Post a Comment