Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful permanent resident, was taken into custody after leading a protest at Columbia University.
Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish citizen and graduate student at Tufts University, was taken into custody after writing an opinion piece criticizing Tufts’ response to pro-Palestine demands.
Many immigrants expected an increase in deportations and tightening of immigration laws when Trump regained office in mid-January, but the unlawful and nonsensical detention of college students and professors is becoming a prominent concern for many, including myself.
I immigrated from Mexico when I was 9. I have lived in the United States for nine years, through Trump’s first presidency and now his second, but this term feels different. As an immigrant, writer and soon-to-be college student, I have never had to be so careful with my actions, my words and, most of all, my writing. The fear of detention and deportation is on every immigrant’s mind, legal or otherwise.
In the first instance of a college student arrest, Khalil, who resided in a university-owned apartment, was taken into custody by ICE on March 8. During the arrest, he was on the phone with his lawyer. When the lawyer asked ICE agents for the reason for arrest, they claimed they were revoking Khalil’s student visa on orders from the State Department. However, when the lawyer clarified Khalil was a permanent resident, ICE agents claimed they were revoking that instead. The reason for the arrest: national security threat.
The excuse of national security was not only used in Khalil’s case. Ozturk was detained by plain-clothed ICE agents on March 25. She was on the way to a gathering with friends when she was arrested. She is currently being held at a Louisiana detention center with no charges filed against her. Her offense: writing an opinion piece criticizing Tuft’s response to foreign affairs matters and pro-Palestine demands.
Trump’s administration has been in office for a little over two months, and now a crucial constitutional violation is on the rise— restriction of freedom of speech. Regardless of legal status or residence, the administration is making clear that no criticism of Trump’s foreign policies will go unchecked.
Trump’s administration is no longer being discreet. They want to show the public that even a small or indirect criticism is not tolerated. What’s next? Will I get sent back to Mexico for this column? Either way, it is only a matter of time until American citizens are put at genuine risk—not of deportation but arrest.
