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Welcome to The Logoff. As we speak I’m specializing in the Trump administration’s arrest of a pro-Palestinian activist, a chilling growth for defenders of free speech and the First Modification.
What’s the most recent? Immigration and Customs Enforcement brokers on Saturday arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a latest Columbia College graduate pupil who was born within the Palestinian territories. Khalil is a authorized everlasting resident of the US. His arrest comes after he performed a outstanding function in anti-Israel protests on campus.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed yesterday that Khalil’s inexperienced card can be revoked and that the administration deliberate to deport him. However a choose this afternoon blocked the administration from deporting Khalil whereas authorized proceedings over his case go ahead.
Why was Mahmoud Khalil arrested? Khalil has not been charged with against the law, the Related Press experiences. The administration mentioned the arrest was in accordance with Donald Trump’s order “prohibiting anti-Semitism.” Rubio’s put up made clear the arrest was on account of Khalil’s involvement with Columbia’s pro-Palestine protests, calling the previous pupil a “supporter of Hamas.” (The federal government has not produced any proof that Khalil was coordinating with Hamas or offering materials help.)
What’s the massive image? Not everybody will agree with Khalil’s place on Palestine and Israel, however that’s inappropriate. The Trump administration is explicitly taking punitive motion towards Khalil on the premise of his political expression, successfully criminalizing an act of political speech in a troubling signal for all of our civil liberties. Trump in a White Home assertion at present mentioned: “That is the primary arrest of many to return.”
And with that, it’s time to log out…
A fast reminder that doomscrolling doesn’t assist anybody. As an alternative, would possibly I recommend at present’s episode of Vox’s The Grey Space podcast? It’s in regards to the worth of silence, and I discovered it actually useful to listen to about the advantages of quiet in a world the place it’s laborious to seek out. The podcast is accessible without cost on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and elsewhere, and I hope you get to take pleasure in it. Have a superb evening, and I’ll see you again right here tomorrow.
