The Arab American Family Support Center (AAFSC) calls for the immediate release of Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful permanent resident who was arrested and has been detained without charge for nine days. As of last week’s procedural court hearing in Manhattan, the federal government had yet to justify Khalil’s detention or why they transferred him to a facility in Louisiana.
Khalil was returning to his residence with his wife, who is a U.S. citizen and 8 months pregnant, when he was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) whose officers claimed that his student visa was revoked. Upon learning that Khalil is a lawful permanent resident, also known as a green card holder, the officers then said that his green card was revoked.
This action by ICE is another failure of the already-broken immigration legal system. It is also a shocking abrogation of due process. The use of an obscure and rarely invoked legal provision, dating from 1798, to detain and attempt to remove a green card holder without legal justification sets a dangerous precedent that puts everyone in this country at risk of being detained indefinitely, simply for expressing their political beliefs, a right endorsed by ICE in a legal analysis from 2018: “Generally, aliens who reside within the territory of the United States stand on equal footing with U.S. citizens to assert First Amendment liberties.”
This is not just an attack on one individual. Rather, it is part of a broader effort to instill fear among dissenters, especially those in immigrant, refugee, and Arab communities. The message is chilling: you cannot engage in civic discourse without fear of retaliation, detention, or even deportation.
AAFSC calls for the immediate release of Mahmoud Khalil and urges elected officials to intervene, use their influence, and stand against this anti-American overreach. The rights of all Americans–including immigrants and refugees in our city–must be protected against unlawful detainment and political targeting.
Photo Credit: Columbia Spectator/Stella Ragas