“Rights are granted to those who align with power,” Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student, eloquently wrote from his cell. This poignant statement came soon after a judge ruled that the government had met the legal threshold to deport the young activist on the nebulous ground of “foreign policy.”
“For the poor, for people of color, for those who resist injustice, rights are but words written on water,” Khalil further lamented. The plight of this young man, whose sole transgression appears to be his participation in the nationwide mobilization to halt the Israeli genocide in Gaza, should terrify all Americans.
The mass actions against the Trump immigration policy, the public opinion polls showing the majority of Americans oppose that policy, the victories won by sanctuary cities fighting to maintain their federal funding, and the mobilizations of workers and immigrants leading up to May Day this year are a powerful testimony to a fightback movement.
This concern about the violation of the rights of Palestinian activists is extending now even to those who are not inclined to join any political movement and possess no particular sympathy for, or detailed knowledge of, the extent of the Israeli atrocities in Gaza, or the United States’ role in bankrolling this devastating conflict.
The case against Khalil, like those against other student activists, including Turkish visa holder Rümeysa Öztürk, starkly indicates that the aim of the repression is the silencing of all dissenting political voices.
Judge Jamee E. Comans, who concurred with the Trump Administration’s decision to deport Khalil, cited “foreign policy” in an uncritical acceptance of the language employed by U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Rubio had previously written to the court, citing “potentially serious foreign policy consequences” stemming from Khalil’s actions, which he characterized as participation in “disruptive activities” and “anti-Semitic protests.”
The latter accusation has become the reflexive rejoinder to any form of criticism leveled against Israel, a tactic prevalent even long before the current catastrophic genocide in Gaza.
Fewer and fewer can argue now that the majority of U.S. citizens remain unaffected by the widespread U.S. government crackdowns on freedom of expression. Witness, for example, the April 14 decision by the Trump administration to freeze $2.2 billion in federal funding to Harvard University.
Beyond the weakening of educational institutions and their impact on all Americans, these financial measures also coincide with a rapidly accelerating and alarming trend of targeting any dissenting voices within the U.S. This is now happening to an unprecedented extent and will require even more mass opposition and fightback
Born in the U.S.A.
An immigration lawyer in Massachusetts, a U.S. citizen born in this country, received a letter from the Department of Homeland Security saying she needed to “self-deport.” The warning read, “Do not ignore this notice because the government will find you.”
The lawyer, Nicole Micheroni, told the press that she had both a birth certificate and a passport proving her citizenship. “At first I thought it was for a client,” she said, “but then I realized my name was the only one on the letter.”
Even in a case where the recipient is not a citizen and is undocumented, such a letter is still illegal and unconstitutional.
Furthermore, new oppressive bills are under consideration in Congress, granting the Treasury Department expansive measures to shut down community organizations, charities, and similar entities under various pretenses and without adhering to standard constitutional legal procedures.
So it is clear now that the earlier policies of clamping down on Palestinian rights activists and immigrants were not at all the end game of the fascists around the Trump administration.
For many years, individuals, predominantly academics, who championed Palestinian rights were subjected to trials or even deported, based on “secret evidence.” This essentially involved a legal practice that amalgamated various acts, such as the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) and the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), among others, to silence those critical of US foreign policy.
Although some civil rights groups in the U.S. challenged the selective application of law to stifle dissent, the matter hardly ignited a nationwide conversation regarding the authorities’ violations of fundamental democratic norms, such as due process (Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments).
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, however, much of that legal apparatus was applied to all Americans in the form of the PATRIOT Act. This legislation broadened the government’s authority to employ surveillance, including electronic communications, and other intrusive measures.
Subsequently, it became widely known that even social media platforms were integrated into government surveillance efforts. Recent reports have even suggested that the government mandated social media screening for all U.S. visa applicants who have traveled to the Gaza Strip, for example, since January 1, 2007.
In pursuing these actions, the U.S. government is effectively replicating some of the draconian measures imposed by Israel on the Palestinians. The crucial distinction, based on historical experience, is that these measures tend to undergo continuous evolution, establishing legal precedents that swiftly apply to all Americans and further intensify the attacks on democracy in the U.S.
Americans are already grappling with their perception of their democratic institutions, with a disturbingly high number of 72 percent, according to a Pew Research Center survey in April 2024, believing that U.S. democracy is no longer a good example for other countries to follow.
The situation has only worsened in the past year. While U.S. activists advocating for justice in Palestine deserve unwavering support and defense for their profound courage and humanity, Americans must also recognize that they, and the remnants of their democracy, are equally at risk.
“Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere,” is the timeless quote associated with Abraham Lincoln. Yet, every day that Mahmoud Khalil and others spend in their cells, awaiting deportation, stands as the starkest violation of that very sentiment. Americans must not permit this injustice to persist. The broad protest movements and fightbacks underway must continue and must be intensified.
John Wojcik contributed to this article.
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