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Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) pauses while speaking as Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) react during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 15, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)
While World Awaits Presidential Result, Progressive 'Squad' Expands in the House
The four congresswomen are joined by Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire Jones, both of New York, along with Missouri's Cori Bush and Marie Newman in Illinois.
Nov 02, 2020
With the world anxiously awaiting the results of a presidential race that some have called "a matter of life and death," the four progressive congresswomen who burst onto the national political scene in 2018 and quickly became known collectively as "the Squad" expanded their informal team in the U.S. House on Tuesday by at least four.
After two years of causing "good trouble" on Capitol Hill, Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) were all declared the projected winners of their respective reelection races. They were joined by congressional newcomers Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire Jones, both of New York, along with Missouri's Cori Bush and Marie Newman in Illinois--all of whom were declared as likely winners.
Justice Democrats welcomed the electoral victories of the initial Squad members, saying that "the Squad is big" and "the time for bold action and visionary leadership is now." The group also celebrated the expected wins of Bowman in New York's 16th District and Bush in Missouri's 1st District:
\u201cIt's official. The first-ever recruited Justice Democrat candidate @CoriBush is going to Congress.\n\nSix years ago police officers maced Cori in Ferguson as she helped spark a global movement. \n\nThree months from now she\u2019ll be holding police accountable as a member of Congress.\u201d— Justice Democrats (@Justice Democrats) 1604451600
\u201cCongratulations to @JamaalBowmanNY in his victory tonight.\n\nThe 11-year old boy who was beaten by police officers and then started his own public school to take care of his community is now officially going to be a Congressman.\n\nCongressman Jamaal Bowman, everyone.\u201d— Justice Democrats (@Justice Democrats) 1604455200
The group had also endorsed Newman of Illinois' 3rd District. The youth-led Sunrise Movement, which advocates for the Green New Deal, also endorsed Newman along with the original members of the Squad and its newcomers.
"We were told that progressive candidates can't win, but once again we proved them wrong," the Sunrise Movement tweeted of Bush's win, noting that the Black Lives Matter activist-turned-politician ran on defunding the police, a Green New Deal, and Medicare for All. "Cori Bush will be a fierce advocate for the people in Congress. She's been fighting for her community and we know she'll continue to do the same for us. We've got the momentum, and the people are on our side."
Sunrise said that Bowman, who ousted longtime Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) in a primary this year, "is the people's candidate and we can't wait to keep fighting alongside him."
The candidates themselves also weighed in:
\u201cI am beyond honored to be elected as the next representative for #IL03. \n\nWe couldn\u2019t have done this without our amazing district-wide coalition. We will continue to build bridges and fight for a just country and economy for working families. \n\nIt\u2019s a #NewDayinIL03.\u201d— Marie Newman (@Marie Newman) 1604463658
\u201cWow. I\u2019m so humbled to be the next Representative of #NY16. Thank you so much.\n\nI\u2019m ready to get to work to disrupt the status quo and deliver for our families.\n\nHold me accountable. Push me and my colleagues. I\u2019m going to need you in Congress with me. There\u2019s so much work to do.\u201d— Jamaal Bowman Ed.D (@Jamaal Bowman Ed.D) 1604461889
\u201cTo all the counted outs, the forgotten abouts, the marginalized, and the pushed asides. This is our moment. We came together to end a 52-year family dynasty. That's how we build the political revolution.\u201d— Cori Bush (@Cori Bush) 1604463358
\u201cTogether, we have fought for our shared humanity. We have organized. We have mobilized. We have legislated our values.\n\nI am so proud to be your Congresswoman & your partner in the work. \n\nI believe in the power of us. \n\nAnd we\u2019re just getting started.\u201d— Ayanna Pressley (@Ayanna Pressley) 1604463273
\u201cServing NY-14 and fighting for working class families in Congress has been the greatest honor, privilege, & responsibility of my life.\n\nThank you to the Bronx & Queens for re-electing me to the House despite the millions spent against us, & trusting me to represent you once more.\u201d— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1604459809
\u201cOur sisterhood is resilient.\u201d— Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan Omar) 1604463586
They also got to work pushing a progressive agenda at the federal level. On The Young Turks Tuesday night, Bowman detailed some policies he would like to push--in the event that Democratic challenger Joe Biden beats President Donald Trump:
\u201c.@JamaalBowmanNY: "We need to legalize marijuana at a federal level and release everyone who's in marijuana due to marijuana convictions and expunge their records..." \n\n"Number two, we need to end life sentences..."\n\n#electionnight: https://t.co/crsqgfWg6a \n#tytlive #election2020\u201d— The Young Turks (@The Young Turks) 1604458646
Before Newman's race was called, Ryan Cooper wrote atThe Week that "while seven or so votes is not that many, it's possibly enough to start swaying close votes--particular given that there are several other Democratic representatives who are fairly close to the Squad politically, and many others who are close to them on individual issues. The next House may have a serious left-wing faction for the first time in decades."
The eight races that were called to double the size of the Squad Tuesday weren't the only potential House victories for progressives. As The Intercept outlined Monday, there are various other potential candidates--including Kara Eastman in Nebraska's 2nd District and Mike Siegel in Texas' 10th District. As of press time, those two races were being led by Republicans but hadn't yet been called, according to the New York Times.
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With the world anxiously awaiting the results of a presidential race that some have called "a matter of life and death," the four progressive congresswomen who burst onto the national political scene in 2018 and quickly became known collectively as "the Squad" expanded their informal team in the U.S. House on Tuesday by at least four.
After two years of causing "good trouble" on Capitol Hill, Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) were all declared the projected winners of their respective reelection races. They were joined by congressional newcomers Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire Jones, both of New York, along with Missouri's Cori Bush and Marie Newman in Illinois--all of whom were declared as likely winners.
Justice Democrats welcomed the electoral victories of the initial Squad members, saying that "the Squad is big" and "the time for bold action and visionary leadership is now." The group also celebrated the expected wins of Bowman in New York's 16th District and Bush in Missouri's 1st District:
\u201cIt's official. The first-ever recruited Justice Democrat candidate @CoriBush is going to Congress.\n\nSix years ago police officers maced Cori in Ferguson as she helped spark a global movement. \n\nThree months from now she\u2019ll be holding police accountable as a member of Congress.\u201d— Justice Democrats (@Justice Democrats) 1604451600
\u201cCongratulations to @JamaalBowmanNY in his victory tonight.\n\nThe 11-year old boy who was beaten by police officers and then started his own public school to take care of his community is now officially going to be a Congressman.\n\nCongressman Jamaal Bowman, everyone.\u201d— Justice Democrats (@Justice Democrats) 1604455200
The group had also endorsed Newman of Illinois' 3rd District. The youth-led Sunrise Movement, which advocates for the Green New Deal, also endorsed Newman along with the original members of the Squad and its newcomers.
"We were told that progressive candidates can't win, but once again we proved them wrong," the Sunrise Movement tweeted of Bush's win, noting that the Black Lives Matter activist-turned-politician ran on defunding the police, a Green New Deal, and Medicare for All. "Cori Bush will be a fierce advocate for the people in Congress. She's been fighting for her community and we know she'll continue to do the same for us. We've got the momentum, and the people are on our side."
Sunrise said that Bowman, who ousted longtime Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) in a primary this year, "is the people's candidate and we can't wait to keep fighting alongside him."
The candidates themselves also weighed in:
\u201cI am beyond honored to be elected as the next representative for #IL03. \n\nWe couldn\u2019t have done this without our amazing district-wide coalition. We will continue to build bridges and fight for a just country and economy for working families. \n\nIt\u2019s a #NewDayinIL03.\u201d— Marie Newman (@Marie Newman) 1604463658
\u201cWow. I\u2019m so humbled to be the next Representative of #NY16. Thank you so much.\n\nI\u2019m ready to get to work to disrupt the status quo and deliver for our families.\n\nHold me accountable. Push me and my colleagues. I\u2019m going to need you in Congress with me. There\u2019s so much work to do.\u201d— Jamaal Bowman Ed.D (@Jamaal Bowman Ed.D) 1604461889
\u201cTo all the counted outs, the forgotten abouts, the marginalized, and the pushed asides. This is our moment. We came together to end a 52-year family dynasty. That's how we build the political revolution.\u201d— Cori Bush (@Cori Bush) 1604463358
\u201cTogether, we have fought for our shared humanity. We have organized. We have mobilized. We have legislated our values.\n\nI am so proud to be your Congresswoman & your partner in the work. \n\nI believe in the power of us. \n\nAnd we\u2019re just getting started.\u201d— Ayanna Pressley (@Ayanna Pressley) 1604463273
\u201cServing NY-14 and fighting for working class families in Congress has been the greatest honor, privilege, & responsibility of my life.\n\nThank you to the Bronx & Queens for re-electing me to the House despite the millions spent against us, & trusting me to represent you once more.\u201d— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1604459809
\u201cOur sisterhood is resilient.\u201d— Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan Omar) 1604463586
They also got to work pushing a progressive agenda at the federal level. On The Young Turks Tuesday night, Bowman detailed some policies he would like to push--in the event that Democratic challenger Joe Biden beats President Donald Trump:
\u201c.@JamaalBowmanNY: "We need to legalize marijuana at a federal level and release everyone who's in marijuana due to marijuana convictions and expunge their records..." \n\n"Number two, we need to end life sentences..."\n\n#electionnight: https://t.co/crsqgfWg6a \n#tytlive #election2020\u201d— The Young Turks (@The Young Turks) 1604458646
Before Newman's race was called, Ryan Cooper wrote atThe Week that "while seven or so votes is not that many, it's possibly enough to start swaying close votes--particular given that there are several other Democratic representatives who are fairly close to the Squad politically, and many others who are close to them on individual issues. The next House may have a serious left-wing faction for the first time in decades."
The eight races that were called to double the size of the Squad Tuesday weren't the only potential House victories for progressives. As The Intercept outlined Monday, there are various other potential candidates--including Kara Eastman in Nebraska's 2nd District and Mike Siegel in Texas' 10th District. As of press time, those two races were being led by Republicans but hadn't yet been called, according to the New York Times.
From Your Site Articles
With the world anxiously awaiting the results of a presidential race that some have called "a matter of life and death," the four progressive congresswomen who burst onto the national political scene in 2018 and quickly became known collectively as "the Squad" expanded their informal team in the U.S. House on Tuesday by at least four.
After two years of causing "good trouble" on Capitol Hill, Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) were all declared the projected winners of their respective reelection races. They were joined by congressional newcomers Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire Jones, both of New York, along with Missouri's Cori Bush and Marie Newman in Illinois--all of whom were declared as likely winners.
Justice Democrats welcomed the electoral victories of the initial Squad members, saying that "the Squad is big" and "the time for bold action and visionary leadership is now." The group also celebrated the expected wins of Bowman in New York's 16th District and Bush in Missouri's 1st District:
\u201cIt's official. The first-ever recruited Justice Democrat candidate @CoriBush is going to Congress.\n\nSix years ago police officers maced Cori in Ferguson as she helped spark a global movement. \n\nThree months from now she\u2019ll be holding police accountable as a member of Congress.\u201d— Justice Democrats (@Justice Democrats) 1604451600
\u201cCongratulations to @JamaalBowmanNY in his victory tonight.\n\nThe 11-year old boy who was beaten by police officers and then started his own public school to take care of his community is now officially going to be a Congressman.\n\nCongressman Jamaal Bowman, everyone.\u201d— Justice Democrats (@Justice Democrats) 1604455200
The group had also endorsed Newman of Illinois' 3rd District. The youth-led Sunrise Movement, which advocates for the Green New Deal, also endorsed Newman along with the original members of the Squad and its newcomers.
"We were told that progressive candidates can't win, but once again we proved them wrong," the Sunrise Movement tweeted of Bush's win, noting that the Black Lives Matter activist-turned-politician ran on defunding the police, a Green New Deal, and Medicare for All. "Cori Bush will be a fierce advocate for the people in Congress. She's been fighting for her community and we know she'll continue to do the same for us. We've got the momentum, and the people are on our side."
Sunrise said that Bowman, who ousted longtime Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) in a primary this year, "is the people's candidate and we can't wait to keep fighting alongside him."
The candidates themselves also weighed in:
\u201cI am beyond honored to be elected as the next representative for #IL03. \n\nWe couldn\u2019t have done this without our amazing district-wide coalition. We will continue to build bridges and fight for a just country and economy for working families. \n\nIt\u2019s a #NewDayinIL03.\u201d— Marie Newman (@Marie Newman) 1604463658
\u201cWow. I\u2019m so humbled to be the next Representative of #NY16. Thank you so much.\n\nI\u2019m ready to get to work to disrupt the status quo and deliver for our families.\n\nHold me accountable. Push me and my colleagues. I\u2019m going to need you in Congress with me. There\u2019s so much work to do.\u201d— Jamaal Bowman Ed.D (@Jamaal Bowman Ed.D) 1604461889
\u201cTo all the counted outs, the forgotten abouts, the marginalized, and the pushed asides. This is our moment. We came together to end a 52-year family dynasty. That's how we build the political revolution.\u201d— Cori Bush (@Cori Bush) 1604463358
\u201cTogether, we have fought for our shared humanity. We have organized. We have mobilized. We have legislated our values.\n\nI am so proud to be your Congresswoman & your partner in the work. \n\nI believe in the power of us. \n\nAnd we\u2019re just getting started.\u201d— Ayanna Pressley (@Ayanna Pressley) 1604463273
\u201cServing NY-14 and fighting for working class families in Congress has been the greatest honor, privilege, & responsibility of my life.\n\nThank you to the Bronx & Queens for re-electing me to the House despite the millions spent against us, & trusting me to represent you once more.\u201d— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1604459809
\u201cOur sisterhood is resilient.\u201d— Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan Omar) 1604463586
They also got to work pushing a progressive agenda at the federal level. On The Young Turks Tuesday night, Bowman detailed some policies he would like to push--in the event that Democratic challenger Joe Biden beats President Donald Trump:
\u201c.@JamaalBowmanNY: "We need to legalize marijuana at a federal level and release everyone who's in marijuana due to marijuana convictions and expunge their records..." \n\n"Number two, we need to end life sentences..."\n\n#electionnight: https://t.co/crsqgfWg6a \n#tytlive #election2020\u201d— The Young Turks (@The Young Turks) 1604458646
Before Newman's race was called, Ryan Cooper wrote atThe Week that "while seven or so votes is not that many, it's possibly enough to start swaying close votes--particular given that there are several other Democratic representatives who are fairly close to the Squad politically, and many others who are close to them on individual issues. The next House may have a serious left-wing faction for the first time in decades."
The eight races that were called to double the size of the Squad Tuesday weren't the only potential House victories for progressives. As The Intercept outlined Monday, there are various other potential candidates--including Kara Eastman in Nebraska's 2nd District and Mike Siegel in Texas' 10th District. As of press time, those two races were being led by Republicans but hadn't yet been called, according to the New York Times.
From Your Site Articles
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LATEST NEWS
'Wrongheaded Cruelty': Observers Bash Rubio Decision to Revoke All Visas Held by South Sudanese
"South Sudan is about to blow up into potentially another country-wide civil war, putting civilians at risk. But yea let's force people to go back now," wrote one professor.
Apr 07, 2025
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday announced that the United States is revoking visas for all South Sudanese passport holders, "effective immediately"—sparking criticism from several observers, including those who pointed out that the country could soon tip into another civil war.
Rubio announced on X that the move, which includes restricting any "further issuance" of visas, comes in response to the South Sudanese government's failure to return "its repatriated citizens in a timely manner."
"This is wrongheaded cruelty," wrote Rebecca Hamilton, a professor at American University Washington College of Law and executive editor at the digital law and policy journal Just Security, on X on Saturday. "The vast majority of South Sudanese in this country (or, frankly inside South Sudan, right now) have no say in what their government does. They are here working, studying, building skills essential for their nascent country."
Mike Brand, an adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut and Georgetown University who focuses on human rights and atrocities prevention, wrote on Saturday: "South Sudan is about to blow up into potentially another country-wide civil war, putting civilians at risk. But yea let's force people to go back now."
South Sudan is the world's youngest country, having only declared independence from Sudan in 2011 following two lengthy civil wars.
The young nation was once again plunged into civil war in 2013 due to violence between warring factions backing President Salva Kiir and his deputy, Riek Machar. A peace deal was brokered in 2018, though the country has still not held a long-delayed presidential election and Kiir remains in power today, according to Time.
Fears of full-on civil war returned when, last month, Machar was arrested and his allies in government were also detained. Machar's opposition political party declared the country's peace deal effectively over, per Time.
Shortly after Rubio's announcement on Saturday, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote on X that the government of South Sudan had refused to accept a South Sudanese national who was "certified by their own embassy in Washington" and then repatriated. "Our efforts to engage diplomatically with the South Sudanese government have been rebuffed," Landau wrote.
On Monday, the government of South Sudan released a statement saying that the deportee who was not permitted entry is a citizen of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, not South Sudan. The government also said it has maintained consistent communication and cooperation with the U.S. government regarding "immigration and deportation matters."
In the early 2000s, thousands of "lost boys" stemming from a civil war in Sudan that began in the 1980s and eventually led to South Sudan's independence were resettled in the United States.
John Skiles Skinner, a software engineer based in California, reacted to Rubio's announcement by writing on Bluesky: "I taught a U.S. citizenship class to South Sudanese refugees in Nebraska, 2006-2007. Fleeing civil war, they worked arduous jobs at a meat packing plant. Many had no literacy in any language. But they studied hard for a citizenship exam which many native-born Americans would not be able to pass."
In 2011, the Obama administration granted South Sudan nationals in the United States "temporary protected status" (TPS)—a designation that shields foreign-born people from deportation because they cannot return home safely due to war, natural disasters, or other "extraordinary" circumstances. The Biden administration extended it, but the designation is set to expire early next month.
As of September 2024, the U.S. provides TPS protections to 155 people from South Sudan.
In a Monday post for Just Security, Hamilton of American University and a co-author wrote that "while there has been no public determination by the secretary of homeland security regarding an extension of TPS for South Sudanese, Rubio's announcement presumably means [U.S. Department of Homeland Security] Secretary Kristi Noem is planning to terminate their TPS."
Observers online also highlighted that Duke University star basketball player Khaman Maluach, whose family left South Sudan for Uganda when he was a child, could be impacted by the State Department's ruling.
Trump Backs 'Blatantly Unconstitutional' Proposal to Send US Citizen Inmates to El Salvador Prisons
"You may not deport a U.S. citizen, period," said one legal expert.
Apr 07, 2025
With a deadline looming for the Trump administration to return a Maryland resident to the U.S. after expelling him along with hundreds of other people to an El Salvador detention center under a shadowy deal with the Central American country, U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday stunned observers by expressing a desire to send U.S. citizens into El Salvador's prison system.
In a press briefing aboard Air Force One Sunday evening, Trump was asked by a reporter about an offer made by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to accept prisoners sent by the U.S. from its federal prison population.
"I love that," Trump said. "If we could take some of our 20-time wise guys that push people into subways and hit people over the back of the head and purposely run people over in cars, if he would take them, I would be honored to give them."
"I don't know what the law says on that," he added. "I have suggested that, why should we stop at people who cross the border illegally?"
Podcaster and former Obama administration staffer Jon Favreau said Trump's remarks could be summed up as: "He wants to send American citizens to a foreign gulag."
Trump has invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which permits the U.S. government to detain and deport noncitizens during wartime, to expel 238 Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, where they are being held in the country's Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). About two dozen people who were originally from El Salvador were also sent to the prison, including Kilmar Abrego Garcia—a Maryland man who had legal protected status, was not convicted of a crime, and had previously received a court order barring the U.S. from deporting him to his home country for fear of persecution and torture.
Trump said several times in his comments Sunday that he was unsure of the legality of sending U.S. federal prison inmates to a foreign prison system.
In February, after Bukele first offered to imprison U.S. citizens, Lee Gelernt of the ACLU told NPR that the idea was a "non-starter."
"You may not deport a U.S. citizen, period," Gelernt, deputy director of the group's Immigrants' Rights Project, told the outlet. "The courts have not allowed that, and they would not allow it... It would be blatantly unconstitutional to deport a U.S. citizen."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also touted Bukele's offer at the time, calling it "an extraordinary gesture never before extended by any country."
Trump's remarks on potentially expanding his deal with the Salvadoran president to include U.S. citizens followed U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis's order mandating the return of Abrego Garcia to the U.S. with a deadline of 11:59 pm Monday.
Xinis on Sunday rejected the administration's request to lift the order, saying Abrego Garcia's expulsion had been "wholly lawless" and that the "risk of harm shocks the conscience."
On Monday, the administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block Xinis' order, saying her demand that the White House adhere to the Constitution was "district-court diplomacy" and accusing the judge of trying to "seize control over foreign relations."
The administration has attacked the district court in Washington, D.C. in recent days over the order, with homeland security adviser Stephen Miller calling on Congress last week to "step up" and abolish the panel by refusing to fund it.
The White House has called Abrego Garcia's expulsion and imprisonment in El Salvador an "administrative error" and claimed the Maryland father is no longer under U.S. jurisdiction, so the administration cannot order him to be returned.
"We suggest the judge contact President Bukele because we are unaware of the judge having jurisdiction or authority over the country of El Salvador," said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt last week.
Washington Monthly contributor David Atkins said that under the same logic, "there is also nothing that prevents them from shipping American citizens to a gulag in El Salvador and saying, 'Nothing we can do.'"
Hope people understand the trajectory that we’re on: if the executive is arguing that it has no recourse once people here end up in a prison in El Salvador, then that’s the precedent for there being no recourse when this starts happening to United States citizens.
[image or embed]
— Alexander Ross (@alexander-ross.bsky.social) April 4, 2025 at 7:03 PM
As Trump expressed interest in expelling U.S. citizens to a foreign prison system, Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council pointed out that the details of the White House's deal with Bukele have not been publicly disclosed.
"We literally know nothing about it, other than we're paying them $6 million," said Reichlin-Melnick. "No law in the United States authorizes us to pay another country to imprison people. And yet! They're doing it."
Setareh Ghandehari, advocacy director for Detention Watch Network, told Newsweek Monday that the deal with Bukele is being used "as a tool of propaganda with the core objective to dehumanize and villainize people while carrying out their cruel mass detention and deportation agenda unchecked."
"Bottom line, Trump and Bukele's partnership deepens collaboration with authoritarian leaders," said Ghandehari, "further jeopardizing democratic values in the U.S. and around the world."
Mahmoud Khalil Rips Columbia University's Complicity in Trump Rampage
"The logic used by the federal government to target myself and my peers is a direct extension of Columbia's repression playbook concerning Palestine."
Apr 07, 2025
In an op-ed dictated to his attorney from a detention facility in Louisiana, Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil late last week condemned the Ivy League institution's complicity in the Trump administration's targeting of Palestinian rights advocates and campus dissent more broadly.
Khalil, who has said he is a political prisoner, argued in the Friday op-ed that Columbia "laid the groundwork for my abduction" last month by U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents. The Trump administration's detention of and effort to deport Khalil—who helped lead student protests against Israel's assault on Gaza—have sparked widespread alarm and backlash, much of it directed at Columbia.
"The logic used by the federal government to target myself and my peers is a direct extension of Columbia's repression playbook concerning Palestine," Khalil wrote, pointing to the recent arrests of other international students who have spoken out in support of Palestinian rights.
Writing in the university's daily student newspaper, Khalil noted that "Columbia has suppressed student dissent under the auspices of combating antisemitism," an approach also taken by the Trump administration, which said the arrest of Khalil was carried out in alignment with the president's "executive orders prohibiting antisemitism."
"This institution's singular concern has always been the vitality of its financial profile, not the safety of Jewish students. This is why Columbia was all too happy to embrace a superficial progressive agenda while still disregarding Palestine, and this is why it will soon turn on you, too," he warned. "If there was any illusion left, it shattered last week when the board of trustees executed a historic maneuver to seize direct control of the presidency. Cutting out their middleman, the board appointed fellow trustee Claire Shipman to a position reserved for academic leadership. Who can still pretend this is an educational institution and not the 'Vichy on the Hudson'?"
"Faced with a movement for divestment they couldn't crush, your trustees opted to set fire to the institution they're entrusted with," Khalil continued. "It is incumbent upon each of you to reclaim the university and join the student movement to carry forward the work of the past year."
Khalil and his legal team are currently fighting the Trump administration's effort to remove him from the country. Earlier this month, a second federal judge rejected the Trump administration's request to transfer Khalil's case to Louisiana, a demand that civil liberties advocates decried as a ploy to "manipulate federal court jurisdiction" in order to receive a favorable ruling.
Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union—which is representing Khalil—stressed in an NBC News op-ed last week that Khalil "has never been accused, charged, or convicted of any crime."
"The Trump administration is sending a message to everyone in America: If you dare to disagree with the president, you will be punished," Lieberman wrote, alluding to a fight over federal funding. "Columbia was just the first target. Harvard and Princeton are now in danger of similar treatment. This is a full-scale attack on the system of free inquiry, discussion, and debate that is at the core of higher education, which is so crucial to the strength of our democracy."
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