Washington, DC — Over 200 groups have announced they will march outside the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters in the US capital on April 5 to protest against the Trump administration's relentless crackdown on pro-Palestine voices.
"Trump and his billionaire administration think that they can repress our movement by targeting and persecuting our leaders in a historic crackdown on free speech. But we are not afraid. April 5 will be a show of force where we will take a stand against the persecution of Mahmoud Khalil and so many other student leaders," the People's Forum, one of the organisers, said in a statement.
The march aims to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil, Badar Khan Suri, and Rumeysa Ozturk, along with other students who have criticised Israel's genocide in besieged Gaza.
"This march will send a powerful message that the people of this country reject Trump's crackdown on the right to protest, just like we reject our tax dollars being used to massacre people in Gaza," said Layan Fuleihan of the People's Forum.
The Palestinian Youth Movement said it's "imperative" to protest to show that pro-Palestine voices won't be "frightened into submission."
"Every day, we are confronted with more atrocities committed by Netanyahu and Trump. Dozens of people are being killed each day by Israeli air strikes across Gaza, including aid workers, journalists, and children. For the people of Gaza, for the right to protest, it is imperative that we take to the streets on April 5 to show that we will not be frightened into submission," said Taher Dahleh of the Palestinian Youth Movement.
Organisers said over 200 groups from across the US have endorsed the march, including trade unions, women's organisations, anti-war groups, Muslim groups, artists and cultural workers.
Since Donald Trump's inauguration, the US has intensified its immigration crackdown. While some faced penalties for voicing opinions on the Gaza war, others were detained or deported for various reasons.
Mahmoud Khalil says his arrest is a testament to the power of students in shifting the public opinion towards the liberation of Palestine.
Crackdown on pro-Palestine voices
The march comes amid a heavy crackdown by President Donald Trump and his government on pro-Palestine voices protesting Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.
On March 8, authorities arrested Khalil, a prominent Palestinian activist and a student at Columbia University. Trump hailed his arrest and said it was the "first of many."
Trump, without evidence, accused Khalil of supporting Hamas. Khalil denies links to the resistance group.
A few days after Khalil's arrest, Trump's claim came due after another pro-Palestine student, Suri, an Indian researcher at Georgetown University, was arrested. His attorney said he was arrested because of the Palestinian identity of his wife.
After the arrest of Suri, authorities went after another pro-Palestine student, Momodou Taal, asking him to turn himself in.
On March 25, Yunseo Chung, a Columbia University student, said she sued the Trump administration to stop her deportation from the US over her participation in a pro-Palestine protest last Spring.
Also on March 25, Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University PhD student, was kidnapped in broad daylight by US authorities over criticising Israel's carnage in Gaza.
Trump also targeted US universities for allowing pro-Palestine protests on their campus.
He started with Columbia, which ignited a wave of pro-Palestine protests across US campuses, cancelling $400 million in federal funding to the university.
The university ultimately yielded to his pressure, announcing sweeping policy changes, including campus protest policies.
He then targeted Harvard, launching a review of alleged anti-Semitism and threatened to withdraw $9 billion in federal funding from the university.
The move came after the university dismissed the leaders of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies in an attempt to distance itself from pro-Palestine voices and allegations of bias.
