Hypocritical Much?

I didn’t think the world needed another essay expressing an opinion about the revocation of Mahmoud Kahlil’s green card. While some people are genuinely confused about the legal issues at play, not everyone is approaching the debate with intellectual honesty and I can’t let that slide.

In certain circles, ideology takes precedence over reason. For example, when the public watched film of Trump treating Vladimir Zelensky poorly, Trump’s enemies used the Ukrainian President’s Jewish heritage as a tool to accuse Trump of antisemitism. As if he would otherwise have graciously welcomed President Zelensky into the Oval Office. There are a multitude of substantive unresolved issues between the Trump administration and President Zelensky. There is no evidence to support an accusation of antisemitism and it detracts from cases of real antisemitism.

Some individuals harbor such strong animosity towards Trump that their disdain has evolved into an ideology, depriving them of the ability to engage in impartial analysis. Instead of presenting facts objectively, they manipulate them to align with their beliefs. These same individuals are now outraged because Trump has cut federal funding to Columbia University claiming it to be an attack on academic freedom and “just the beginning” of an attempt to control academia. The decision to cut funding came after the university administration neglected to safeguard Jewish students for over a year and allowed radical groups to dominate the campus. A Columbia professor suggested that internal reforms would be more effective than external imposition, emphasizing the need for the university to enforce its own policies proactively. But Columbia has failed to ensure the safety of Jewish students and has allowed radical elements to disrupt campus activities without meaningful consequences. Perhaps that is the reason the administration is withholding funds.

Trump now stands accused of using antisemitism as a weapon against free speech by seeking to deport Mahmoud Kahlil for saying nasty things about Israel and Jews. Kahlil was born in Syria and studied for his undergraduate degree in Lebanon. He also holds an Algerian passport (so much for his refugee status). In December of 2022, Khalil began studying to earn his master’s degree in public administration at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. He is now married to a U.S. citizen and is himself a permanent resident of the United States (green card holder). By October 7, 2023, less than a year after arriving in the U.S, he was already a leader of Columbia University Apartheid Divest a group that has been linked to Hamas and other terrorist groups. By October 8, 2023 he was already leading student protests in support of the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023 which were eerily well prepared and emerged while the massacre was still taking place.

During the past 18 months, the so-called anti-war movement on college campuses have conducted protests on campus grounds yelling ominous slogans such as “Globalize the Intifada.” These protestors support the destruction of the State of Israel “by any means necessary” and advocate for replacing Israel with an Islamic caliphate “from the river to the sea.” Over time, these individuals, who may not even be genuine students, have resorted to aggressive tactics such as encampments, threatening behavior towards Jewish students (euphemized as “Zionists”) occupying buildings, holding employees captive, and promoting extremist ideologies on college grounds. Unfortunately, the universities took no meaningful action to curb this behavior which has emboldened these bad actors. As a result, the Trump administration has taken matters into its own hands by seeking to deport non-citizens who support Hamas and espouse their murderous ideology including terrorism. But anti-Trumpers claim that Mahmoud Khalil is being deported because he is expressing views with which they disagree.

Baher Azmy, the legal director of the Center of Constitutional Rights who is on Khalil’s legal team, told reporters that Khalil was arrested for his viewpoints, which Azmy warned could set a dangerous precedent. “Mr. Khalil’s detention has nothing to do with security,” he said. “It is only about repression.” But says Palestinian born peace activist Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib “you can’t claim to be anti-war and demand a cease-fire while chanting for the "resistance" (aka Hamas), calling to "bring the war home" & "escalate for Palestine," asking the Houthis make you proud & "turn another ship around," & praising the Oct 7 attack!”[1]

These arguments grossly oversimplify the issue in this case. By focusing on the First Amendment, one ignores important context that bears upon the legality of the government’s action. For one, although the law protects citizens and non-citizens from criminal prosecution for most types of speech[2], that does not translate into the unchecked right of all to express themselves free from adverse consequences. For example, when anti-Israel activists found themselves without jobs, they had no legal recourse because they were not being prosecuted for their speech, rather employers were choosing not to associate with them because they found the content of their speech abhorrent, which is perfectly legal. Thus, one has the right to free expression without being criminally prosecuted by the state, but not necessarily with impunity.

Khalil is facing deportation for breaching the conditions of his residency permit in the United States. According to the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 USC 1182), authorities can remove a non-citizen if they "support or advocate for terrorist actions" or are affiliated with groups that do. So, although Khalil cannot be prosecuted for a crime because of his speech, he may be deported if his speech amounts to support for terrorism.

There is ample evidence that Khalil endorsed terrorism and belonged to organizations that do. As a leader of the organization Columbia University Apartheid Divest, he openly celebrated the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023 and distributed pro-Hamas literature on campus. CUAD calls for the “end of Westerrn civilization.” Hamas is a U.S. recognized terrorist organization. The group he lead was instrumental in the takeover of college buildings and violence against university employees. Khalil himself served as a student negotiator making demands with the school administration. Testimony of fellow students reveal that he was a raging Jew hater who frequently interrupted a class on Israeli history and made aggressive comments about Israel in a class WhatsApp chat.

Therefore, those who express concerns about the so-called “slippery slope” need not fret. The dramatic assertion that if one person is silenced then anyone could be silenced is misplaced. This case isn’t about the First Amendment; it revolves around whether a non-citizen can be deported under the Immigration and Nationality Act due to their speech and other forms of expression that support terrorism. If Khalil or any of his soon- to-be deported comrades disagree, they can pursue their claim through the U.S. legal system. I am sure ACLU will gladly take that case.

This is not a defense of President Trump. I recognize his numerous shortcomings. The aim of this piece is to highlight how this intricate situation has been overly simplified for political purposes. For those who may not be aware, antisemitism has been allowed to thrive in this country without restraint, with Columbia University at its core. This is largely due to the alarming level of tolerance our society has extended towards jihadists and their ideology of hatred against Jews. At last, action is being taken to address this critical threat to the Jewish community, yet it is dismissed simply because it originates from an unpopular figure.

---

[1] LinkedIn post on March 15, 2025.

[2] There is case law that draws distinctions between the rights of citizens and non-citizens to free speech but they are beyond the scope of this essay.