Activist’s arrest raises questions on US protections for foreign students, green card holders
WASHINGTON — The arrest of a Palestinian activist who helped organize campus protests of the war in Gaza has sparked questions about whether foreign students and green card holders are protected against being deported from the U.S. Mahmoud Khalil was arrested Saturday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Homeland Security officials and President Donald Trump have indicated that the arrest was directly tied to his role in the protests last spring at Columbia University in New York City. Khalil is being held at an immigration detention center in Jena, Louisiana, while he awaits immigration court proceedings that could eventually lead to his deportation. His arrest has drawn criticism that he’s being unfairly and unlawfully targeted for his activism while the federal government has essentially described him as a terrorist sympathizer. Here is a look at what the protections for foreign students and green card holders are and what might be next for Khalil: Can someone with a green card be deported? A green card holder is someone who has lawful permanent residence status in the United States. Jaclyn Kelley-Widmer teaches immigration law at Cornell Law School. She said lawful permanent residents generally have many protections and “should be the most protected short of a U.S. citizen.” But that protection is not absolute. Green card holders can still be deported for committing certain crimes, failing to notify immigration officials of a change in address, or engaging in marriage fraud, for example. The Department of Homeland Security said Khalil was taken into custody because of Trump’s executive orders prohibiting antisemitism. Trump has argued that protesters forfeited their rights to remain in the country by supporting the Palestinian group Hamas, which controls Gaza and has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States. Khalil and other student leaders of Columbia University Apartheid Divest have rejected claims of antisemitism, saying they are part of a broader anti-war movement that also includes Jewish students and groups. But the protest coalition, at times, has also voiced support for leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, another Islamist organization designated by the U.S. as a terrorist group. Khalil has not been convicted of any terrorist-related activity or charged with any wrongdoing. But experts say the federal government has fairly broad authority to arrest and try to deport a green card holder on terrorism grounds. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, green card holders do not need to be … “Activist’s arrest raises questions on US protections for foreign students, green card holders” →