The Midnight Knock Comes for Foreign Students Whose Opinions Trump Doesn't Like

Less than a month after extolling the importance of free speech to our European allies, the Trump administration is betraying those principles at home.

Currently, the government is attempting to deport Mahmoud Khalil – a permanent U.S. resident and former Columbia University student – not because he committed a crime, but because the current administration dislikes his speech about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If this administration actually believes in free speech, it must practice what it preaches and immediately release Khalil from custody unless it can provide evidence that he committed a crime.

The Constitution’s protection of free speech is the crown jewel of American exceptionalism. Since its founding, our nation has rejected the idea that any king, president or government board of censors could declare any opinion off-limits, no matter how hateful or misguided others might find it. In America, no one should fear that voicing a controversial opinion could lead to a midnight knock on the door from government agents.

Enter the Department of Homeland Security. On March 8, DHS agents arrested Khalil, a green-card holder, who was involved in campus activism related to the current Gaza war during his time as a student at Columbia in New York. Khalil, 30, finished his studies for a master’s degree in public administration from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs and is expected to graduate this spring.