Connect with us

RSS

What the Media Isn’t Telling You About Mahmoud Khalil and His Possible Deportation

A pro-Palestine protester holds a sign that reads: “Faculty for justice in Palestine” during a protest urging Columbia University to cut ties with Israel. November 15, 2023 in New York City. Photo: Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

The case of Mahmoud Khalil has been the talk of the nation’s media in recent days.

Predictably, coverage has been short on context, but long on editorializing platitudes. Outlets like NPR and CNN have worked to depict Khalil’s story as simply one of a “prominent” protester “against Israel’s war in Gaza,” whose right to “free speech” is being attacked by the Trump administration.

But this narrative is only tenable when material information is left out of the story.

As with any legal proceeding, there is some legal and factual ambiguity, but mainstream media outlets have omitted crucial context about both the law and the facts.

Some of that context is provided below, beginning with a broad overview of the relevant laws and ending with a list of some of the relevant facts.

US Immigration Law

US immigration law provides reasons for which a green card holder may be deported (“removed”) from the country. (8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)). Those relevant to the Khalil case include general security considerations, terrorist activities, and foreign policy considerations.

General security grounds for deportation include any green card holder who engages in “criminal activity which endangers public safety or national security” or “any activity a purpose of which is the opposition to, or the control or overthrow of, the Government of the United States by force, violence, or other unlawful means…” (8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(4)(A)).

Another grounds for deportation is if a green card holder engages in “terrorist activity,” which includes anyone who “endorses or espouses terrorist activity or persuades others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity or support a terrorist organization…” (8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(4)(B) and 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(3)(B)).

The third grounds provides that any green card holder “whose presence or activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States is deportable.” (8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(4)(C)).

First Amendment Protections

Green card holders do have some rights, including under the First Amendment. However, those rights may be restricted where there is a “legitimate governmental interest.”

For example, Mark Goldfeder, a former law professor and CEO of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, has pointed to Citizens United v. FEC, in which the Supreme Court specifically mentioned “foreigners” as a category of individuals whose speech rights may be restricted and which “are not automatically coextensive with the rights” of “members of our society.”

In another Supreme Court case referenced by legal expert Erielle Azerrad at City Journal, our Nation’s highest court held that foreigners may be deported on the basis of their destructive or “dangerous” advocacy (Turner v. Williams).

Recognizing the importance of the freedom of expression, the Court still acknowledged that governments “cannot be denied the power of self-preservation.” Azerrad also pointed out two recent cases in which appeals courts upheld deportations on grounds that the deportees had distributed flyers on behalf of terrorist organizations (see Hosseini v. Nielsen and Bojnoordi v. Holder).

Other commentators have pointed to even more cases, such as Harisiades v. Shaughnessyand Reno v. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

Even if these precedents did not exist, the First Amendment is not an automatic bar or absolute right. As explained by Goldfeder, Supreme Court precedent provides that even the right to free expression may be restricted if the law is “narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling government interest” which, in this case, would be national security.

A related legal issue typically omitted by media commentators is the prohibition against providing material support for a terrorist organization (18 U.S.C. § 2339B). While this law does not prohibit an individual advocating for a terrorist organization on his own accord, it can and does prohibit “advocacy performed in coordination with, or at the direction of, a foreign terrorist organization” (Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project).

The Facts

So which facts fit the law in the Khalil case? Consider just a sampling of the evidence.

Khalil is a leader in the organization Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), an organization whose most prominent coalition member is Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).

Immediately after Hamas’ October 7 massacre, National SJP aligned itself with Hamas, declaring it was “part of” the “movement” operating “under unified command” which had just waged “a large scale battle … within ’48 Palestine” (referring to southern Israel).

Since then, CUAD has been directly involved in numerous illegal and violent actions, including the illegal encampment and the violent takeover of Hamilton Hall at Columbia. During the latter, university staff were violently assaulted and kidnapped.

Importantly, Khalil is not in trouble merely for his and his organization’s horrendous views.

As explained by Ken Marcus, founder of the Brandeis Center: “This was not mere protest activity, but involved some degree of criminality. The federal government is not prosecuting people for engaging in political speech. The federal government is addressing criminality, violation of school rules and violation of the terms of either green cards or student visas.”

At the encampment and other CUAD-sponsored events, Hamas propaganda was distributed, including personally by Khalil himself. This included a document titled “Our Narrative … Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” with the “Hamas Media Office” marking on it.

Footage has emerged from earlier this month showing Khalil at one such event where the propaganda booklet was being distributed.

Literature distributed by CUAD contained language such as: “This booklet is part of a coordinated and intentional effort to uphold the principles of the thawabit and the Palestinian resistance movement overall by transmitting the words of the resistance directly.”

The organization has also hosted events featuring the designated terrorist organization Samidoun and a senior terrorist leader. Events and publications have regularly glorified terrorists, and participants have even encouraged Hamas attacks against peaceful Jewish counter-protesters.

Khalil’s organization also harbors deeply anti-American motives. In August 2024, for example, CUAD posted that it is “fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization” and aligning itself with “militants … who have been on the frontline in the fight against tyranny and domination which undergird the imperialist world order.” CUAD then declared that its members “must be prepared to make … sacrifices” in order “to achieve liberation in America.”

There is also evidence that has not been made public. According to The New York Post, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was “presented with intelligence” regarding Khalil being a threat to national security. Classified intelligence may be used in deportation hearings that does not need to be disclosed either to the defendant or to the public, if the judge determines that disclosure could harm national security. (8 U.S.C. § 1534(e)(3))

Khalil will have his day in immigration court to make his legal case. But it is incumbent on the media to ensure that the law and the facts have their day in the court of public opinion.

David M. Litman is a Research Analyst at the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA).

The post What the Media Isn’t Telling You About Mahmoud Khalil and His Possible Deportation first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

RSS

Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

The Israeli army said on Saturday that a missile fired from Yemen towards Israeli territory had been “most likely successfully intercepted,” while Yemen’s Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the launch.

Israel has threatened Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement – which has been attacking Israel in what it says is solidarity with Gaza – with a naval and air blockade if its attacks on Israel persist.

The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group was responsible for Saturday’s attack, adding that it fired a missile towards the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.

Since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade.

Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.

The post Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

RSS

Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel

People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2025. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Large crowds of mourners dressed in black lined streets in Iran’s capital Tehran as the country held a funeral on Saturday for top military commanders, nuclear scientists and some of the civilians killed during this month’s aerial war with Israel.

At least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned at the funeral, according to state media, including armed forces chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guards commander General Hossein Salami, and Guards Aerospace Force chief General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

Their coffins were driven into Tehran’s Azadi Square adorned with their photos and national flags, as crowds waved flags and some reached out to touch the caskets and throw rose petals onto them. State-run Press TV showed an image of ballistic missiles on display.

Mass prayers were later held in the square.

State TV said the funeral, dubbed the “procession of the Martyrs of Power,” was held for a total of 60 people killed in the war, including four women and four children.

In attendance were President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures including Ali Shamkhani, who was seriously wounded during the conflict and is an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Khamenei’s son Mojtaba.

“Today, Iranians, through heroic resistance against two regimes armed with nuclear weapons, protected their honor and dignity, and look to the future prouder, more dignified, and more resolute than ever,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who also attended the funeral, said in a Telegram post.

There was no immediate statement from Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the conflict began. In past funerals, he led prayers over the coffins of senior commanders ahead of public ceremonies broadcast on state television.

Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.

Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

TRUMP THREAT

Israel, the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said it aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.

Iran denies having a nuclear weapons program. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has said it has “no credible indication” of an active, coordinated weapons program in Iran.

Bagheri, Salami and Hajizadeh were killed on June 13, the first day of the war. Bagheri was being buried at the Behesht Zahra cemetery outside Tehran mid-afternoon on Saturday. Salami and Hajizadeh were due to be buried on Sunday.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would consider bombing Iran again, while Khamenei, who has appeared in two pre-recorded video messages since the start of the war, has said Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking US military bases in the Middle East.

A senior Israeli military official said on Friday that Israel had delivered a “major blow” to Iran’s nuclear project. On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that Israel and the US “failed to achieve their stated objectives” in the war.

According to Iranian health ministry figures, 610 people were killed on the Iranian side in the war before a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday. More than 4,700 were injured.

Activist news agency HRANA put the number of killed at 974, including 387 civilians.

Israel’s health ministry said 28 were killed in Israel and 3,238 injured.

The post Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

RSS

Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival

Revellers dance as Avril Lavigne performs on the Other Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

i24 NewsChants of “death to the IDF” were heard during the English Glastonbury music festival on Saturday ahead of the appearance of the pro-Palestinian Irish rappers Kneecap.

One half of punk duo based Bob Vylan (who both use aliases to protect their privacy) shouted out during a section of their show “Death to the IDF” – the Israeli military. Videos posted on X (formerly Twitter) show the crowd responding to and repeating the cheer.

This comes after officials had petitioned the music festival to drop the band. The rap duo also expressed support for the following act, Kneecap, who the BCC refused to show live after one of its members, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – better known by stage name Mo Chara – was charged with a terror offense.

The post Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

Copyright © 2017 - 2023 Jewish Post & News