The detention and attempted deportation of Khalil is a test by Trump to see how far he can go—and a test for us to see how hard we will fight back.
(Ted Shaffrey / AP Photo)
This article appears in full at The Nation
On the evening of March 8, recent Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil and his wife unlocked the door to their apartment building. As they entered, two men not in uniform pushed their way inside behind them. Khalil’s visa had been revoked, they told him. They were there to deport him, and if Khalil’s eight-month-pregnant wife, who is an American citizen, didn’t shut up and go into their apartment, they would arrest her too. When Khalil demanded a warrant, one of the men showed Khalil a picture of a document on his phone, which is not how warrants work.
When Zeteo, which helped break the story, reached out to the DHS for comment, the agency could have declined to say anything. It could have told a self-serving lie—claimed Khalil is a dangerous criminal (he has not been charged with any type of crime) or said its action was routine. Instead, DHS referred Zeteo to the White House. The message could not have been clearer: Trump ordered this arrest. Khalil’s detention is exactly what it looks like.
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