In response to the court decision allowing deportation proceedings for Mahmoud Khalil to continue, Justin Mazzola, Deputy Director of Research at Amnesty International USA, said: 

“This decision by the court sends a painfully chilling message to anyone living in the United States - under the Trump administration, free speech is only reserved for the few and not for all.  

“Let’s be clear, this is a dangerous step towards further repression of freedom of expression and the right to protest for everyone in the U.S. on any issue. 

“Targeting and threatening peaceful protesters and their immigration or residency status flies in the face of human rights.

“The continued targeting of immigrant students and communities - from silencing their speech to arbitrarily shackling people and sending them to cruel prisons in El Salvador without any due process - further pushes people deeper in the shadows in fear that they could be next.

“What the Trump administration has done to Mahmoud Khalil and too many other students across the country is to leverage the mass deportation machine in service of silencing dissent at home and crushing advocacy to stop the ongoing war crimes and genocide by Israel against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip. At the same time, the U.S. is continuing to provide weapons to the Israeli government. 

“Colleges and universities across the country should protect their students and faculty who wish to express their opinions freely without the threat of arrest, detention, and deportation by the Trump administration. 

“Far too many students are now facing a similar fate. This is nothing but racism.

“While Mahmoud Khalil has been unlawfully and arbitrarily detained, including in one of the harshest ICE facilities in the country, he remains a lawful permanent resident with the rights to freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, and due process—rights that all who live in the U.S., regardless of immigration status, unquestionably have. 

“Amnesty International will continue to strongly advocate for Mahmoud Khalil and all students and faculty being unjustly targeted by this administration’s racist policies.”