New York Arrests Green Card Holder, Targets Deportation: Legal Immigrants Under Threat

On March 8, federal agents arrested Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil. He is a permanent resident with a green card and his wife is a citizen. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials said his green card had been revoked. PBS tells about this incident in more detail.

Khalil helped organize anti-Israel protests in New York City on the campuses of Columbia University and Barnard College. He was arrested on March 8. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials and President Donald Tramp explained that the arrest was directly related to Khalil's role in the protests last spring at Columbia University in New York. His wife is a US citizen and is eight months pregnant.

Khalil's arrest has raised questions about whether foreign students and owners are protected green card from deportation from the United States.

The Palestinian is currently awaiting trial in immigration court. His arrest has drawn public criticism.

Some believe that Khalil is being unfairly and illegally prosecuted for his activism, and that the federal government has essentially labeled him as a terrorist sympathizer.

On the subject: Know Your Rights: New York City Holds Classes for Illegals Who Fear Deportation

Can someone with a green card be deported

A green card holder is someone who has lawful permanent resident status in the United States.

Jacqueline Kelly-Widmer is a professor of law at Cornell Law School who teaches immigration law. She said lawful permanent residents generally have protections.

But this protection is not absolute. Green card holders can still be deported for certain crimes, such as failing to notify immigration authorities of a change of address or participating in marriage fraud.

DHS said Khalil was taken into custody as a result of Trump's executive orders banning anti-Semitism. The White House chief explained that the protesters had lost their right to remain in the country by supporting the Palestinian group Hamas, which controls Gaza and is designated a terrorist organization.

Khalil and other Columbia University Apartheid Divest student leaders have rejected accusations of anti-Semitism. The activists say they are part of a broader anti-war movement that includes Jewish students. But the protest coalition has at times expressed support for Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, and Hezbollah is another Islamist organization that the U.S. has designated a terrorist group.

Officials appear to be trying to deport Khalil on the grounds that he is engaged in some kind of terrorist activity or is somehow a threat.

Khalil has not been convicted of any terrorist activity and has not been charged with any crimes.

But experts say the federal government has broad powers to arrest and attempt to deport a green card holder on terrorism grounds.

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, green card holders do not have to be convicted of anything to be “removable.” They can be deported if the head of DHS or the attorney general has reasonable grounds to believe that they have engaged in or may engage in terrorist activity.

But Kelly-Widmer said she has never seen a case of alleged terrorist activity take place in the U.S. She doubts that participating in protests, as Khalil did, qualifies.

What ICE said about the reason for the arrest

One of the key questions in Khalil's case is what ICE agents told his lawyer when he was arrested.

The Palestinian's lawyer, Amy Greer, said the agents initially claimed they were acting on a State Department order to revoke his student visa.

But when Greer told them that Khalil was a permanent resident with a green card, they said they would revoke the document if that were the case.

The question arises as to how familiar the agents who arrested him were with the law, or whether there was a "real disregard for the rule of law."

"We should be really alarmed that this is happening," Kelly-Widmer said.

What are the next steps in the Palestinian case?

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration would "cancel visas and/or green cards for Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported."

When someone is in the country on a student visa, the State Department has the authority to revoke it if the person violates certain conditions. The State Department often revokes visas for foreign students who are arrested for drunk driving.

Determining whether a lawful permanent resident can be deported typically requires an immigration judge.

Khalil will receive charging papers explaining why he is being detained and why the government wants to remove him. He will be given a notice to appear in immigration court (usually within 72 hours of his arrest), and then he will have his first appearance before an immigration judge. This could take anywhere from 10 days to a month.