Democrats are deeply conflicted over the Trump administration’s arrest of a Palestinian graduate scholar at Columbia College who faces deportation for his outstanding position in campus protests over the Israel-Hamas struggle.
Senate and Home Democrats have condemned the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil as a violation of his First Modification rights to protest — however have tempered their criticism to keep away from supporting campus protests that at occasions featured harassment and assault of Jewish college students.
They’re additionally being cautious to sentence Hamas, which attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 individuals and abducting 250, and prompting an Israeli response that has resulted in tens of hundreds of deaths in Gaza, together with many civilians.
“I abhor many of the opinions and policies that Mahmoud Khalil holds and supports, and have made my criticism of the antisemitic actions at Columbia loudly known,” Minority Chief Chuck Schumer wrote in a publish to X on Tuesday.
However the New York Democrat challenged the Trump administration, which has referred to as Khalil a supporter of Hamas, to justify his arrest by immigration brokers outdoors his New York condominium over the weekend.
“If the administration cannot prove he has violated any criminal law to justify taking this severe action and is doing it for the opinions he has expressed, then that is wrong, they are violating the First Amendment protections we all enjoy and should drop their wrongheaded action.”
Khalil is a Palestinian from Syria who entered the U.S. on a scholar visa and had obtained authorized everlasting residency, generally known as a inexperienced card. His spouse, an American citizen, is eight months pregnant, his attorneys mentioned in courtroom papers.
President Donald Trump, who has mentioned he needs to crack down on antisemitism on school campuses, celebrated the arrest in a social media publish, saying it was “the first of many to come.”
A federal decide halted the Trump administration’s efforts to deport Khalil on Monday, and scheduled a listening to on the case for Wednesday.
Schumer’s assertion echoed an identical one from Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries launched Monday.
“To the extent his actions were inconsistent with Columbia University policy and created an unacceptable hostile academic environment for Jewish students and others, there is a serious university disciplinary process that can handle the matter,” Jeffries wrote. “Absent evidence of a crime, such as providing material support for a terrorist organization, the actions undertaken by the Trump administration are wildly inconsistent with the United States Constitution.”
Different outstanding Democrats are equally wrestling with the arrest. Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state mentioned he had issues about among the campus protests that erupted across the nation after the Oct. 7 assault. However he famous in a social media publish that “Khalil committed no crime” and “shouldn’t be locked up for expressing his political views.”
A small variety of Democratic representatives have taken a much less nuanced view, demanding Khalil’s launch whereas expressing help for the pro-Palestinian motion in a letter despatched Tuesday to Secretary of Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem.
“We must be extremely clear: this is an attempt to criminalize political protest and is a direct assault on the freedom of speech of everyone in this country,” mentioned the letter, whose signatories embrace Palestinian-American Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. “Khalil’s arrest is an act of anti-Palestinian racism intended to silence the Palestinian solidarity movement in this country.”
Different Democratic Home members to signal the letter embrace Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan, New York Rep. Nydia Velázquez, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
Tlaib, the primary Palestinian American girl to serve in Congress, was censured for her feedback concerning the Israel-Hamas struggle in November of 2023. Ohmar was faraway from the Home Overseas Affairs Committee in 2023 for remarks she beforehand made denouncing the Israeli authorities.
CORRECTION: A earlier model misspelled the final title of Rep. Ilhan Omar.
