Trump administration abused immigration laws with Khalil’s arrest, Democratic senators say

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(Reuters) – A group of eight Democratic Senators on Friday accused the Trump administration of abusing the country’s immigration laws in arresting Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil over his participation in pro-Palestinian protests. 

In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the senators led by Peter Welch of Vermont said Rubio had not informed Congress of the reasoning for his determination that Khalil, a lawful permanent resident, could threaten U.S. foreign policy if he remained in the country. They said the law requires he provide such notice. 

“We urge you to abandon this pretextual abuse of our nation’s immigration laws against Mr. Khalil and others for expressing political views that you dislike,” the senators wrote to the two senior officials in President Donald Trump’s cabinet. 

The State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

The Democrats’ ability to force Rubio and other Republicans to address the issue may be limited, since Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress. Senate Democrats cannot conduct investigations or hold hearings without the support of Republican colleagues.

Khalil’s arrest and potential deportation have triggered protests on the streets of New York City and drawn outrage from Trump critics, who call the move an attack on freedom of expression. Trump has pledged to deport some participants in pro-Palestinian protests that swept U.S. college campuses last year over Israel’s war in Gaza, which was triggered by Palestinian militant group Hamas’ October 2023 attacks. 

Trump says pro-Palestinian protesters are antisemitic. Activists say their critics are wrongly conflating support for Palestinian rights with antisemitism.

Khalil’s lawyers have challenged the legality of his March 8 arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. They say his protest was free speech guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. 

Khalil, 30, is being held in immigration detention in Louisiana. A federal judge in New Jersey has temporarily blocked his deportation.

The Trump administration has said Khalil is subject to removal under a little-used provision of the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act allowing the deportation of any foreign national whose “presence or activities” in the country the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to believe could harm U.S. foreign policy. 

Rubio has said the U.S. would revoke visas for those who participate in “pro-Hamas events.” Khalil’s lawyers have said their client has no ties to Hamas. 

The letter’s signatories included Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate’s Judiciary Committee, as well as Tim Kaine and Chris Van Hollen of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Welch is a member of the Judiciary Committee.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Deepa Babington)