1. United States
2. N.Y.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to do everything in your power to secure the release from ICE custody of U.S. permanent resident and student activist Mahmoud Khalil. I hate that I feel like I have to add this, but as a Jew, I am deeply offended and outraged that anyone thinks Mahmoud should be deported for exercising his right to free speech. Mahmoud is an activist for Palestinian rights at Columbia University. On March 8, he was abducted from his New York apartment by DHS agents in retaliation for his political speech. He is currently being held in ICE custody, reportedly having already been moved out of New York, and could face imminent deportation. His wife, a U.S. citizen, is eight months pregnant. Mahmoud’s arrest is blatantly unconstitutional and lays the groundwork for attacks on all kinds of constitutionally-protected speech. The Trump administration is making moves from a well-worn fascist playbook: attempting to remove a legal permanent resident in retaliation for his political speech in support of human rights and justice. I urge you to immediately and publicly condemn Mahmoud’s arrest, call for his release, and do everything in their power to protect student activists and immigrants from the reach of the Trump administration.