{"id":40206,"date":"2025-03-13T12:37:43","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T19:37:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=40206"},"modified":"2025-03-13T12:41:10","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T19:41:10","slug":"only-14-house-members-sign-letter-calling-for-activist-mahmoud-khalils-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/03\/13\/only-14-house-members-sign-letter-calling-for-activist-mahmoud-khalils-release\/","title":{"rendered":"ONLY 14 HOUSE MEMBERS SIGN LETTER CALLING FOR ACTIVIST MAHMOUD KHALIL\u2019S RELEASE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Columbia<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Combia University student Mahmoud Khalil talks to the press during the press briefing organized by Pro-Palestinian protesters who set up a new encampment at Columbia University’s Morningside Heights campus on Friday evening, in New York City, United States on June 01, 2024. Photo by Selcuk Acar\/Anadolu via Getty Images<\/p>\n\n\n\n

POSTED IN POLITICS AND MOVEMENTS: US<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawmakers denounced the administration\u2019s \u201cassault on free speech\u201d with Khalil\u2019s detention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BY\u00a0SHARON ZHANG<\/a><\/strong> MARCH 12, 2025 (therealnews.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story originally appeared in Truthout<\/a> on Mar. 11, 2025. It is shared here with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agroup of over a dozen lawmakers is demanding the \u201cimmediate\u201d release of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil after his likely illegal arrest and threat of deportation by the Trump administration this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The House members, led by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan), raised alarm about<\/a> the threat to free speech raised by Khalil\u2019s detention, saying that his arrest violates immigration laws and effectively criminalizes protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sign up for The Real News Network Newsletter<\/strong> and stay ahead with news and analysis designed to inform\u2014and inspire action.SIGN UP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMahmoud Khalil must be freed from DHS custody immediately. He is a political prisoner, wrongfully and unlawfully detained, who deserves to be at home in New York preparing for the birth of his first child,\u201d the lawmakers wrote. \u201cUniversities throughout the country must protect their students from this vile assault on free thought and expression, and [the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)] must immediately refrain from any further illegal arrests targeting constitutionally protected speech and activity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The arrest violated Khalil\u2019s constitutional rights to freedom of speech and due process, the lawmakers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter was signed by 14 Democrats in the House: Representatives Andr\u00e9 Carson (Indiana) Jasmine Crockett (Texas), Al Green (Texas), Summer Lee (Pennsylvania), Jim McGovern (Massachusetts), Gwen Moore (Wisconsin), Ilhan Omar (Minnesota), Mark Pocan (Wisconsin), Ayanna Pressley (Massachusetts), Lateefah Simon (California), Delia Ramirez (Illinois), Nydia Vel\u00e1zquez (New York) and Nikema Williams (Georgia).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case has been met with silence by other Democratic leaders like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who represents the state where the arrest happened and is a fervent Zionist<\/a>. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, also from New York, has also refused<\/a> to denounce the arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Saturday night, DHS officers detained Khalil at his home in Columbia University student housing, citing his role in organizing pro-Palestine protests at the university last year. The Trump administration has threatened to revoke Khalil\u2019s green card and deport him for his activism \u2014 which experts say is illegal<\/a> and a major overstep of the administration\u2019s power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Federal agents seemingly covertly<\/a> transported Khalil, who is Palestinian, to a private jail in Louisiana without telling his wife, who is eight months pregnant. On Monday night, a federal judge temporarily blocked<\/a> the planned deportation of the activist, pending more legal action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKhalil has not been charged or convicted of any crime,\u201d the lawmakers said. \u201cAs the Trump administration proudly admits, he was targeted solely for his activism and organizing as a student leader and negotiator for the Gaza Solidarity Encampment on Columbia University campus, protesting the Israeli government\u2019s brutal assault on the Palestinian people in Gaza and his university\u2019s complicity in this oppression.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d they went on. \u201cKhalil\u2019s arrest is an act of anti-Palestinian racism intended to silence the Palestine solidarity movement in this country, but this lawless abuse of power and political repression is a threat to all Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khalil\u2019s detention has been widely denounced by advocates for Palestinian rights and civil society organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis arrest is unprecedented, illegal, and un-American. The federal government is claiming the authority to deport people with deep ties to the U.S. and revoke their green cards for advocating positions that the government opposes,\u201d said Ben Wizner, who heads the ACLU\u2019s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. \u201cTo be clear: The First Amendment protects everyone in the U.S. The government\u2019s actions are obviously intended to intimidate and chill speech on one side of a public debate.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SHARON ZHANG<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sharon Zhang is a news writer at Truthout<\/a><\/em> covering politics, climate and labor. Before coming to Truthout, Sharon had written stories for Pacific Standard, The New Republic, and more. She has a master\u2019s degree in environmental studies. She can be found on Twitter: @zhang_sharon<\/a>More by Sharon Zhang<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Combia University student Mahmoud Khalil talks to the press during the press briefing organized by Pro-Palestinian protesters who set up a new encampment at Columbia University’s Morningside Heights campus on Friday evening, in New York City, United States on June 01, 2024. Photo by Selcuk Acar\/Anadolu via Getty Images POSTED… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40206"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40206"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40208,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40206\/revisions\/40208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}