Ahead of a judge-imposed deadline to release Mahmoud Khalil or appeal by 9:30 Friday morning, Justin Mazzola, researcher with Amnesty International USA, said the following:
“With a U.S. District Judge finding no legitimate basis for Mahmoud Khalil’s continued detention, the Trump administration must release him immediately.
“Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful permanent resident and recent graduate of Columbia University who has been arbitrarily detained since March by U.S. immigration authorities, should never have been detained in the first place. The Trump administration separated him from his wife and forced him to miss the birth of his child to make an example out of him, threaten others and silence dissent.
“Targeting and threatening peaceful protestors, particularly on the basis of their immigration or residency status, flies in the face of human rights. No matter how the Trump administration tries to manipulate the law, freedom of expression is a human right — not a deportable offense.
“Mahmoud Khalil, like everybody in the U.S., has the human right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and due process. His detention is unjust, and it is past time for him to be released.
“President Trump must stop using threats and intimidation as a political weapon. Colleges and universities should take steps to protect their immigrant students from ICE enforcement and ensure that the human rights of all of their students and faculty to protest in support of Palestinian rights and other issues are respected.”
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