As the Donald Trump administration is preparing to deport Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University student, arrested by the ICE for leading pro-Palestine campus protests last year raising questions about whether a green card holder can be sent out of the country, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said “any resident alien” is eligible for deportation if he or she commits a crime.
Calling it just one out of many as President Donald Trump stated, Tom Homan said. “Did he violate the terms of his visa? Did he violate the terms of his residency here, you know, committing crimes, attacking Israeli students, locking down buildings, destroying property?” “Absolutely,” he said.
A federal judge in New York City Monday stayed Khalil’s deportation until its next hearing on Wednesday.
‘Come, study in our colleges but…’
Tom Homan said the administration is sending a strong message that anybody can come to study in US colleges but they have to obey the laws of this country. “We’re going to send a strong message to say, anybody here on a foreign visa, that you’re given a great right to come to the greatest country on Earth and study in our colleges,” Homan said.
“But when you come here to study, you got to obey the laws of this country. You got to obey the requirements of that visa to be lawful while you’re here.”
“So, it’s a great privilege to study in this country, but, when we give you that right to study in this country, don’t violate our laws,” he added.
According to a report, Khalil was being investigated as a potential national security threat after Secretary of State Marco Rubio was presented with intelligence.
30-year-old Khalil is a Syrian-born Palestinian who completed his master’s from the Ivy League college. Married to an American, Khalil has a green card.
Where is Mahmoud Khalil now and what are the latest updates on this case?
Khalil is in ICE custody in Louisiana and his lawyer Amy Greer said he is healthy and his spirits are undaunted by his predicament, according to Columbia University’s daily newspaper Columbia Spectator. Greer said the recent remarks from President Donald Trump and other government officials show that Khalil was “chosen as an example to stifle lawful dissent in violation of the First Amendment”.
Is Khalil’s green card revoked? Can a green card holder be deported?
Amy Greer said Khalil was told by the ICE agents that his green card was revoked. Green card holders have the same rights as US citizens but they can be deported for criminal behavior, and violations of immigration laws. Greer said Khalil did not commit any crime or violate the terms of his residency.
