The Trump administration is trying to deport pro-Palestinian students and academics legally in the United States. This is a new front in conflict with elite schools about saying they can't fight anti-Semitism.
The White House argues that these moves, many of which involve immigrants, including visas and green cards, are necessary to pose a threat to national security. However, some legal experts say the administration is trampling on its right to free speech and will use lower-level laws to crack down on behaviorism.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said under his direction the State Department has revoked visas for around 300 people and continues to revoke visas every day. He did not identify how many of those people participated in the campus protests or who acted to support the Palestinians, but he said, “There are a lot now.”
It is known that immigrant officials have pursued at least nine people clearly in connection with the effort since the beginning of March.
The detention and efforts to deport people within the country reflect the escalation of the administration's efforts to limit immigration.
Here's what we know about university detention:
Who is being targeted?
The nine people pursued and sometimes detained by federal employees include current and former students and professors. Most of them publicly express the pro-Palestinian views. Some have green cards, but they make them legal permanent residents. Others have student visas. This allows foreigners to enter the US for full-time research.
The degree of involvement in pro-Palestinian advocacy varies. Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent resident who was first thought to have been detained, led the famous protest at Columbia University against Israeli war in Gaza. Harill, who has a Palestinian heritage, is married to an American citizen who is eight months pregnant. He was sent to a Louisiana detention center.
The administration is targeting students who are less involved. Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish citizen and graduate student at Tufts University, won federal custody on Tuesday. She has attracted the attention of right-wing groups claiming to fight anti-Semitism on university campuses, and published their findings online after helping students write opinion stories in their newspapers criticizing the response to university parents' requests.
Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said investigators at the agency and immigration and customs enforcement agencies “Ozturk has been discovered engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that enjoys the murder of Americans. Visa is a privilege, not a right,” she did not provide evidence or details of that support.
Videos of Oztzurku's detention show ordinary agents at the Department of Homeland Security detaining her while they are out to quickly destroy her with friends, and are widely distributed online. “This video should shake everyone to their core,” her lawyer, Mahsa Kambabai, said in a statement Wednesday. Ozturk is being held in Louisiana.
In scrutinizing US residents, ICE investigators search for videos, online posts and news clips of campus protests against the Israeli Hamas War. The government also appears to have access to information from private organizations.
Who else did the government ask for deportation?
Several other students and academics are either detained or required.
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Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian Fulbright recipient who received his PhD in Urban Planning in Colombia, fled to Canada after immigration authorities revoked his student visa.
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Yunseo Chung, a 21-year-old Colombian student and a legal permanent resident from South Korea, is being targeted for deportation by immigration agents. A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Tuesday to stop the efforts.
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Lekaa Kordia, a Palestinian student from the West Bank who was involved in the Colombian protests, was detained by immigration agents after overcoming a student visa that ended in 2022.
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Momodou Taal, a dual citizen of the Gambia and Britain who holds a doctorate in Africana Studies from Cornell, has been ordered to surrender to immigration and customs enforcement. Tar, a prominent pro-Palestinian voice on campus, had previously filed a preemptive lawsuit to block possible actions against him.
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Badar Khan Suri, an Indian citizen who studied and taught at Georgetown University, was detained at his home. He is married to a Palestinian American woman, a former adviser to the Hamas leader whose father died. A federal judge temporarily blocked Suri's deportation. His lawyers say he is “waiting for his court date” in Alexandria, Louisiana.
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Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a kidney transplant specialist and professor at Brown University's School of Medicine, was deported despite having a valid visa. She was detained when she returned from an overseas trip to her home country, Lebanon, which could violate a court order. The lawyer representing members of Dr. Alawie's family vowed to continue the fight.
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Alireza Doroudi, an Iranian citizen and doctoral student at the University of Alabama, was detained and detained by immigration officers. Homeland Security officials said Thursday that Drowdy “supported important national security concerns” but did not provide additional information as to why he was detained.
Are these detention and deportation legal?
The Trump administration justified its actions by citing rarely used provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952.
However, legal experts question whether targeted student behavior meets this threshold. Legal permanent residents are also protected by the constitution, including free speech and due process rights, which could set a major legal agenda. Lawyers for those whose student visas were revoked have similarly challenged the administration for constitutional reasons.
In some cases, the administration cites lower-level crimes to justify deportation efforts. The government added new accusations against Khalil and said it withheld information on membership in organizations, including UN agencies supporting Palestinian refugees when applying for permanent residence. One of Mr. Halil's lawyers dismissed these new claims as “patently weak.”
Will more students be targeted?
Executive authorities have shown that these detentions and deportations reflect the beginning of a wider crackdown on Palestinian protesters. President Trump called the Halil incident “many people come.”
Report contributed Edward Wong, Zoran Kanno Yongs, Tyler Pager and Hamed Areaziz.
