US judge suspends Trump admin efforts to deport pro-Palestine activist

A US federal judge has temporarily suspended the deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestine activist and a permanent resident who was arrested over the weekend for his advocacy for Gaza.

"To preserve the Court's jurisdiction pending a ruling on the petition, Petitioner shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court orders otherwise," the judge said in Monday's filing.

Judge Jesse Furman also scheduled a court conference on Wednesday.

Khalil was arrested on Saturday by immigration officers in New York and was taken to a detention centre in Louisiana 

His arrest sparked outrage as thousands in New York and Washington, DC protested his arrest and demanded his release.

"This is straight out of the fascist playbook. Criminalising dissent is an assault on our First Amendment. Revoking a green card over political views is illegal. Protesting genocide is not a crime," Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib said.

Protesters rallied near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Manhattan on Monday to demand Khalil's release.

"By arresting Mahmoud, Trump thinks he can strip us of our rights and strip us of our commitment to our people," Ibtihal Malley, a New York University student, told the crowd. "To that we say: You are wrong."

'First of many'

President Donald Trump has hailed the arrest of Khalil, warning it's the first "of many to come."

"We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity," Trump wrote in a social media post.

"We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathisers from our country — never to return again."

The US Education Department on Monday warned some 60 colleges, including Harvard and Cornell, that they could lose federal money if they fail to uphold civil rights laws against alleged antisemitism and ensure "uninterrupted access" to campus facilities and education opportunities.

Khalil, who earned a master's degree from Columbia's School of International Affairs last semester, had not been charged with any crime related to his activism.

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Source: TRT