Green-card holders rattled by Mahmoud Khalil case
The Trump administration’s efforts to deport Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil is triggering concern among green-card holders in the U.S., who are suddenly viewing their freedoms and immigration status with uncertainty.
Khalil, who is an Algerian citizen of Palestinian descent, has been targeted over his involvement in pro-Palestinian protests. He is a legal permanent U.S. resident on a green card and married to a U.S. citizen.
His arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in New York City and subsequent transport to a facility in Louisiana have raised a flurry of questions over the rights of green-card holders, immigration attorneys told The Hill.
“I have never received so many inquiries from people who you would usually think are safe," Samah Sisay, a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights and a member of Khalil’s legal team, told reporters on Friday.
“A lot of green card holders have concerns about leaving the United States and what will happen if they try to come back,” she said.
The Trump administration has moved to revoke Khalil’s green card, claiming he has advocated for Hamas, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization. A federal judge blocked efforts to deport Khalil, who has not been charged with a crime, amid the ongoing court deliberations. Khalil has denied advocating for Hamas.
"A green-card holder doesn't have an indefinite right to be in the United States," Vice President Vance said in a recent interview with Fox News last week. "This is not about 'free speech.' Yes, it's about national security — but more importantly, it's about who we, as American citizens, decide gets to join our national community."
Aleksandar Cuic, an immigration attorney, told The Hill he has had to rethink his guidance to clients in light of Khalil’s case.
“People that have green cards and have been placed in deportation proceedings, there is usually a mechanism though........
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