03/14/2025
Statement from the E-Board on the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil:
The arrest of any individual by the government without due process is extremely dangerous. According to AP News, as of posting, there are currently no clear charges that Mahmoud is being detained for.
Full statement:
"This week, a Columbia University student was detained from his university residence by immigration agents following his participation in a pro-Palestinian protest. Upon discovering that the student held a permanent residency green card, they kept him in custody, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio later issued the following statement: “We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.”
In the course of our history as a nation, this is an unprecedented move. Civil protest should not be conflated with terrorism, and we have never in the past resorted to revoking legal residency status on these grounds. This sets a dangerous precedent for the disregard of the rights to freedom of speech and assembly outlined in our nation’s Constitution.
Regardless of your personal opinion on the subject of the protest, it is essential to the preservation of our freedoms that our people are able to disagree with their government politically without being silenced, and without fear of retaliation.
It is not, and has never been, the role of the American government to decide what kind of speech or ideas can and cannot be expressed. Any suggestion to the contrary is cause for concern to anyone and everyone who resides here, and cannot go unchallenged."
