An amalgam of several civil liberties groups in US has filed a "friend of the court" brief in a New Jersey court, rebuking the Trump administration's attempt to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate, for his protected speech and pro-Palestine activism.
US attempt to deport "Mr. Khalil violates the First Amendment and betrays more than two centuries of American commitment to free and open expression. The Court should grant Mr. Khalil's requested relief," said the brief filed on Thursday by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression [or FIRE], National Coalition Against Censorship, the Rutherford Institute, PEN America, and the First Amendment Lawyers Association.
"Make no mistake about it. This case is about the Constitution of the United States and the panoply of protections that document provides to the citizens of this country and those non-citizens who are here legally and, thus, here as our guests."
The "friend of the court" brief [or amicus curiae] is a submission to a court by an outsider, providing legal arguments and recommendations to aid the court's decision-making.
The brief argued that the Trump administration's attempt to deport Khalil, who has not been charged with any crime, "constitutes textbook viewpoint discrimination and retaliation in violation of the First Amendment."
"Khalil's arrest, which President Donald Trump heralded as the 'first of many to come,' is an affront to the First Amendment and the cherished American principle that the government may not punish people based on their opinions," Conor Fitzpatrick, FIRE supervising senior attorney, said.
Earlier this month the Trump administration arrested and sought to deport Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil over his participation in pro-Palestine protests. Khalil is challenging his detention in court.
Trump, without evidence, has accused Khalil of supporting Hamas resistance group in Palestine. Khalil's legal team says he has no links to the group that the US designates as a "foreign terrorist organisation."
Trump has alleged pro-Palestine protesters are anti-Semitic. Pro-Palestinian advocates, including many Jewish groups, say that their criticism of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza and their their support for Palestinian rights is wrongly conflated with anti-Semitism by US government and Israel.
TRT Global - Beijing's call for equitable treatment for its students comes after a senior US official sent letter to six universities requesting information on Chinese students.
Past judgements of top court
Citing Supreme Court's past judgements, FIRE said in a statement that "The Supreme Court held in 1945 that non-citizens are entitled to full First Amendment protections. And those protections cover unpopular expression, especially when that expression is political speech.
It added, "The Supreme Court held in its landmark Texas v. Johnson decision that 'if there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive'".
The cilvil liberty group said the Trump administration is relying on a rarely used Cold War-era statute that empowers the secretary of state to deport a lawfully present non-citizen if the secretary determines their "presence or activities" has a "potentially serious" effect on US foreign policy.
FIRE said it disagrees with the administration claims that authority extends even to deporting green card holders for protected speech.
"The statute is unconstitutionally vague and gives the secretary of state unfettered discretion to deport lawful permanent residents without giving them notice of what conduct triggers expulsion. Not only it is a Cold War-era statute, but the sweeping authority the administration claims it confers "places free expression in mortal peril," the brief argued.
"No one in the United States of America should fear a midnight knock on their door because they voiced an opinion the government doesn't like," Fitzpatrick said. "Accepting Secretary Rubio's position would irreparably damage free expression in the United States."
FIRE's brief compared the Trump administration's stance to Article 51 of the Chinese Constitution, which states that exercising "freedom" must not oppose government "interests."
"Allowing the government to step in as a censor when it believes free speech threatens the government's interests is a loophole with an infinite diametre," Fitzpatrick said. "It has no place in America's tradition of individual liberty."
Khalil's feared deportation could significantly deter other international students currently studying at American universities, FIRE attorneys argued.
"Other foreign college students will have good reason to fear criticising the American government during classroom debates, in term papers, and on social media," FIRE attorney Colin McDonell said.
"Holding students engaged in basic political expression to different standards based on their citizenship status is poisonous to free speech on campus."
TRT Global - Members of Jewish Voice for Peace protest inside Trump Tower in support of Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil, who has been detained and faces deportation over his activism against Israel's genocide in Gaza.
Students facing deportation
US university campuses are increasingly becoming hostile to free speech, especially pro-Palestine activism, as Trump's administration threatens to deport non-citizen protesters and slash federal finding to universities.
Besides Khalil, several students have been detained and face expulsion.
Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian from occupied West Bank, was arrested by immigration officers for overstaying her student visa. Kordia was previously arrested for her involvement in protests at Columbia in April 2024.
The Trump administration has also revoked the visa of Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen and doctoral student "for advocating for violence and terrorism."
Srinivasan, however, "self-deported," US officials claim.
Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national and a researcher at Washington's Georgetown University was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as part of the Trump administration’s growing efforts to target campus activism.
Grant Miner, a Jewish student and president of the Student Workers of Columbia-United Auto Workers, said Columbia University "expelled and fired" him, accusing the Ivy League institution of "caving" to Trump's demands.
A far-right Zionist group, which took credit for Khalil's arrest, claims to have submitted "thousands of names" for similar actions.
