It is a privilege to study at a college, university, graduate school or professional school in the US. Non-citizens afforded this opportunity are indeed fortunate.
Although many of the institutions of higher learning tout their devotion to academic freedom, the current scenes on campus bear no resemblance to genuine critical thinking and the civil exchange of ideas. Moreover, academic freedom does not mean students, professors or staff members are free to violate the law or engage in proscribed behavior, inconsistent with the code of conduct at the particular institution. This includes not harassing, intimidating or assaulting fellow students or staff, or committing vandalism.
Educational institutions receiving federal funding are also subject to Title VI of the Civil Rights Law, which prohibits discrimination on the ground of race, color or national origin. This includes targeting of Jews and excluding them from participation in any program or activity, as well as, preventing Jews from accessing campus facilities or attending classes.
There should be a zero-tolerance policy for violations and an expectation of harsh consequences such as suspension and expulsion, as well as civil and criminal penalties where appropriate.
There is also another overlay of concern arising out of activities that are in support of a terrorist organization. Providing material support to a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) like Hamas is a crime under 18 USC 2339B.
Endorsing or espousing terrorist activity or persuading others to endorse or support terrorist activity or support a terrorist organization (as described in 8 USC 1182) is explicit grounds for deportation of an alien under 8 USC 1227.
It should, therefore, be no surprise that Mahmoud Khalil, a former graduate student at Columbia University, who reportedly led activities aligned to FTO Hamas, was arrested by ICE in coordination with the Department of State as a prelude to deportation.
There is no defense of free speech in a deportation case involving support of an FTO. In this sense, arguing that the statements made in support of the FTO were an exercise in free speech is nothing more than an admission of guilt.
All those who acted in concert with, under the direction of, or in coordination with Khalil are likely exposed to potential civil or criminal liability under 18 USC 2339B, because they were part of the effort to provide material support to an FTO. It should also be noted that he is reportedly a representative of Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which likely implicates those coordinating with him in the violation of the Anti-Boycott Law, by supporting a foreign boycott of Israel. Furthermore, his advocacy for Hamas raises the question of whether he should have filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”). Of course if he sought to do so, he likely would have been subject to the Anti-Terrorism Act (18 USC 2339), since it is illegal to advocate for an FTO.
There is a difference between entirely independent free speech and advocating for or in support of an FTO or in furtherance of its goals. The US Supreme Court, in its 2010 decision in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project (561 U.S. 1), upheld the constitutionality of the Anti-Terrorism Act. It also analyzed various activities such as engaging in political advocacy on behalf of an FTO and properly determined that it was prohibited.
In essence, concerted activities like political advocacy in furtherance of the goals of or for the benefit of an FTO are covered by the Act. This is to be distinguished from an individual voicing a purely personal position entirely independently, without any coordination with others who are coordinating directly or indirectly with the FTO or acting for the benefit of the FTO or in furtherance of the FTO’s agenda. Receiving any payment from another also destroys any semblance of independence and similarly if done for the benefit of another or in coordination with someone directing the effort.
Curiously, he is listed as working as a Program Manager at the Syria Office of the UK Embassy in Beirut and prior to that for Josoor, a Syrian NGO. He was reportedly born in Syria and moved to Lebanon before coming to the US to study at Columbia’s School of International Public Affairs. It is also reported that he has Algerian citizenship.
The lessons to be learned by students in colleges and universities, who have proven to be susceptible to the dubious charms of the pro-Hamas terrorist movement and the entreaties of less than honorable characters often linked to the movement, who seek to justify and even glorify it using terms like ‘resistance’, are a trap for the unwary. As more are arrested, some will inevitably make a deal and turn on their erstwhile supporters. The result will likely be that many useful dupes on campus will be sacrificed on the altar of the woke idol of Hamas terrorism.
Students and useful dupes; wake up and appreciate the falsity of the cause and eschew its fatal attraction. The new Trump administration is against rhese false gods. Go back to class and educate yourselves. Your parents and children one day will be grateful you did.