Over the past weekend, Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate who has participated in campus protests and is a permanent resident of the United States, was arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Mr. Khalil is currently detained at Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Jena, Louisiana.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked Mr. Khalil’s deportation.
Legal Defense Fund (LDF) President and Director-Counsel Janai Nelson issued the following statement:
“The arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, and President Trump’s promise that there will be more arrests to come, is a chilling presentiment that raises serious concerns about this administration’s misuse of immigration enforcement personnel to curtail and punish constitutionally protected First Amendment activity. The Trump Administration’s tactics aim to stoke fear and signal that dissent will result in harmful immigration consequences and other forms of oppression that may include surveillance, violence, detainment, and even potential deportation.
“College and university students have long been fierce advocates for human rights and racial justice, and the history of this country is filled with instances of mass demonstrations of dissent. The rule of law has always prohibited unconstitutional law enforcement conduct aimed at stifling dissent, and it prohibits it now.”
“The decision to wield immigration power and law enforcement to target and punish people based on their national origin and their expressed dissent is deeply at odds with a multi-racial, multi-ethnic democracy. And the law is clear. The First Amendment guarantees demonstrators the right to peacefully assemble and dissent without government retaliation. We demand due process and human and civil rights protections for Mr. Khalil and all lawful protesters. His treatment should alarm everyone who believes in the primacy of the U.S. Constitution and, especially, First Amendment freedom and equal protection under law.”
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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation’s first civil rights law organization. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Please note that LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights.
