On Friday, federal officials ordered prominent activist and Cornell University graduate student Momodou Taal to surrender to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, Taal’s attorneys confirmed to The Intercept.

Taal, a dual Gambian and British citizen in the U.S. on a student visa, is currently suing the Trump administration to block its targeting of international students protesting in support of Palestinian rights.

Along with another Cornell graduate student and professor, Taal sued the Trump administration for violating their First Amendment rights, arguing that the targeted deportations of pro-Palestinian activists has a chilling effect on free speech. The suit challenged two of President Donald Trump’s executive orders used to crack down on people advocating for Palestine.

Taal’s lawyers are now arguing that the Trump administration’s request for Taal to turn himself in to ICE is a retaliation for his lawsuit and for his pro-Palestinian beliefs.

Eric Lee, an attorney representing Taal in the lawsuit called the government’s demand for Taal to turn himself in “extremely unusual” and “very concerning.”

“These types of things do not happen in a democracy where people have the right to seek redress of grievances of the government,” Lee said.

Chris Godshall-Bennett, the legal director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee who is also part of Taal’s team on the lawsuit, called the move “outrageous.”

“There is no basis for his removal,” said Godshall-Bennett. “Nothing has changed except for the fact that we have filed this lawsuit — so it really is just an outrageous situation that should be treated as such.”

Midnight Email

In a midnight email sent to Taal’s attorneys, a lawyer with the Department of Justice relayed a request from ICE demanding Taal’s detention, inviting Taal “to surrender to ICE custody” at the agency’s Homeland Security Investigations office in Syracuse, New York, according to the attorneys and court filings, which include a copy of the........

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