Donald Trump has attacked the Bill of Rights.
At Trump's direction, ICE has detained and is now holding Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent resident of the United States, graduate of Columbia University, and holder of a green card.
Khalil, a Palestinian, was arrested for his alleged actions during protests over the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza during the spring of 2024. Trump has called him a terrorist, claiming his protests were supportive of terrorism, although he has no known links to any terrorist organization.
He has not been charged with a crime.
The Bill of Rights protects all United States residents regardless of their immigration status. Moreover, despite the promise of über hawk Secretary of State Marco Rubio that "we will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported,” that threat cannot legally be acted upon without cause, and certainly not arbitrarily.
The old saying calling false criminal charges "trumped up" now has a new and sinister meaning. Trump and his administrative goons expect to move against a specific ethnic group in brazen violation of the Constitution and federal law.
It takes only a glimpse at history to see how autocracy gets its teeth into democracy. One seemingly small action, such as Khalil's arrest, begins the slide down the slippery slope that leads to tyranny.
There will be more arrests; the net will get wider, first targeting foreign activists, then native speakers against Trump, then your neighbor and mine.
Khalil's only infraction was to do something Donald Trump didn't like.
Contact your senators and representatives now. Tell them to inform the administration that Khalil's arrest was illegal. If you live in New York, flood the Columbia University switchboard at (212) 854-1754.
--- Diogenes, 11 March 2025
No comments:
Post a Comment