On March 8, ICE agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate known for his lead role in the school’s pro-Palestinian and anti-genocide protests. Khalil has not been accused of any crime, but instead was expressly targeted for his political activism. He is a legal U.S. green card resident and is married to a U.S. citizen. Agents informed Khalil that his green card had been revoked and that he was being scheduled for immediate deportation without trial.

Critics attacked Khalil’s arrest and imprisonment as a “forced disappearance” of a political dissident, while legal experts predicted a courtroom battle over First Amendment speech and protest rights that they say will ultimately weigh in Khalil’s favor. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, claimed unilateral authority to strip such individuals of their residency status and then arrest and deport them without trial, citing unspecified national security and foreign policy concerns.

Khalil’s deportation has been temporarily paused after an emergency court ruling, and his case will now move to an immigration court in Louisiana, where he is being held in detention.

Watch the above video as Straight Arrow News contributor Ben Weingarten explains Secretary Rubio’s reasoning and defends his choice to deport Mahmoud Khalil.

The following is an excerpt from the above video:

All one need to do is look at the Immigration and Nationality Act’s provisions on what constitutes an inadmissible alien. Here are just a few classes of people the U.S. government may deport: Those who are associated with a terrorist organization and intend while in the United States to engage solely, principally or incidentally in activities that could endanger the welfare, safety or security of the United States; those who relevant government officials reasonably believe are here to engage solely, principally or incidentally in any unlawful activity or any activity a purpose of which is the opposition to or the control or overthrow of the government of the United States by force, violence or other unlawful means; those who endorse or espouse terrorist activity or persuade others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity or support a terrorist organization; those who officials determine have been associated with a terrorist organization and intends, while in the United States, to engage solely, principally or incidentally, in activities that can endanger the welfare, safety or security of the United States; and last but not least, those whose entry or proposed activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.