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\u201cRights are granted to those who align with power,\u201d Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate<\/p>\n
student, eloquently\u00a0wrote<\/a>\u00a0from 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 \u201cforeign policy\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the poor, for people of color, for those who resist injustice, rights are but words written on water,\u201d Khalil further lamented. The\u00a0plight<\/a>\u00a0of 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. This concern should extend even to those who are not inclined to join any political movement and possess no particular sympathy for \u2013 or detailed knowledge of \u2013 the extent of the Israeli atrocities in Gaza, or the United States\u2019 role in bankrolling this devastating conflict.<\/p>\n The perplexing nature of the case against Khalil, like those against other\u00a0student activists<\/a>, including Turkish visa holder R\u00fcmeysa \u00d6zt\u00fcrk, starkly indicates that the issue is purely political. Its singular aim appears to be the silencing of dissenting political voices.<\/p>\n Judge Jamee E. Comans, who\u00a0concurred<\/a>\u00a0with the Trump Administration\u2019s decision to deport Khalil, cited \u201cforeign policy\u201d in an uncritical acceptance of the language employed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Rubio had previously written to the court,\u00a0citing<\/a>\u00a0\u201cpotentially serious foreign policy consequences\u201d stemming from Khalil\u2019s actions, which he characterized as participation in \u201cdisruptive activities\u201d and \u201canti-Semitic protests\u201d.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Those who might argue that US citizens remain unaffected by the widespread US government crackdowns on freedom of expression must reconsider. On April 14, the government decided to\u00a0freeze<\/a>\u00a0$2.2 billion in federal funding to the University of Harvard.<\/p>\n Beyond the potential weakening of educational institutions and their impact on numerous Americans, these financial measures also coincide with a rapidly accelerating and alarming trend of targeting dissenting voices within the US, reaching unprecedented extents. On April 14, Massachusetts immigration lawyer Nicole Micheroni, a US citizen, publicly\u00a0disclosed<\/a>\u00a0receiving a message from the Department of Homeland Security requesting her self-deportation.<\/p>\n Furthermore, new\u00a0oppressive bills<\/a>\u00a0are under consideration in Congress, granting the Department of Treasury expansive measures to shut down community organizations, charities, and similar entities under various pretenses and without adhering to standard constitutional legal procedures.<\/p>\n Many readily conclude that these measures reflect Israel\u2019s profound influence on US domestic politics and the significant ability of the Israel lobby in Washington DC to interfere with the very democratic fabric of the US, whose Constitution\u2019s First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech and assembly.<\/p>\n While there is much truth in that conclusion, the narrative extends beyond the complexities of the Israel-Palestine issue.<\/p>\n For many years, individuals, predominantly academics, who championed Palestinian rights were subjected to trials or even deported,\u00a0based<\/a>\u00a0on \u201csecret evidence\u201d. 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.<\/p>\n Although some civil rights groups in the US challenged the selective application of law to stifle dissent, the matter hardly ignited a nationwide conversation regarding the authorities\u2019 violations of fundamental democratic norms, such as due process (Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments).<\/p>\n Following the terrorist\u00a0attacks<\/a>\u00a0of September 11, 2001, however, much of that legal apparatus was applied to all Americans in the form of the\u00a0PATRIOT Act.<\/a>\u00a0This legislation broadened the government\u2019s authority to employ surveillance, including electronic communications, and other intrusive measures.<\/p>\n Subsequently, it became widely known that even social media platforms were integrated into government surveillance efforts. Recent\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0have even suggested that the government mandated social media screening for all U.S. visa applicants who have traveled to the Gaza Strip since January 1, 2007.<\/p>\n In pursuing these actions, the US 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 compromise their already deteriorating democracy.<\/p>\n 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,\u00a0believing<\/a>\u00a0that US democracy is no longer a good example for other countries to follow.<\/p>\n The situation has only worsened in the past year. While US 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.<\/p>\n \u201cOur defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere,\u201d is the timeless\u00a0quote<\/a>\u00a0associated 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.<\/p>\n Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Papp\u00e9, is\u00a0<\/i>Our Vision for Liberation<\/a>: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak Out. His other books include\u00a0<\/i>My Father was a Freedom Fighter\u00a0and\u00a0<\/i>The Last Earth. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA). His website is<\/i>\u00a0www.ramzybaroud.net<\/i><\/a>.<\/p>\n Link : https:\/\/original.antiwar.com\/ramzy-baroud\/2025\/04\/28\/deporting-dissent-the-dangerous-precedent-set-by-the-persecution-of-pro-palestine-activists\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cRights are granted to those who align with power,\u201d Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student, eloquently\u00a0wrote\u00a0from 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 \u201cforeign policy\u201d. \u201cFor the poor, for people of color, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-policy"],"yoast_head":"\n