Quick Hitter: The Khalil Arrest

On Saturday, March 8th, recent Columbia University graduate Mohammad Khalil and his American wife Noor were returning to their apartment when Khalil was arrested by ICE. He had not committed a crime, but he had been a leader of last year’s pro-Palestinian protests on the New York campus. Khalil, who has a green card, has been personally accused by Secretary of State Marco Rubio of being a “danger to the foreign policy of the United States” and therefore his green card is subject to revocation, and he is subject to deportation.

News of Khalil’s arrest, as well as his subsequent “disappearance” to what was later discovered to be an ICE facility in Louisiana, sparked immediate outrage and protests. A judge quickly issued a temporary restraining order barring the government from deporting Khalil.

This was a huge story. For a couple of days.

As is often the case in Trumpworld, other heinous actions have already occurred that have pushed the Khalil kidnapping off the front page. Khalil is still in detention in Louisiana and there have been several court hearings on this case.

Yesterday I saw, for the first time, the video that Noor took while Mohammad was being arrested. To say that it is chilling is a vast understatement. I will share it here, but I warn you that it is disturbing.

For most Americans, reading or otherwise becoming aware of an arrest is a thought exercise. I would imagine there are not all that many folks who have ever been arrested or seen arrests other than on cop shows on TV. Even through that lens, this video is shocking to me.

I never imagined that, in the middle of one of the greatest cities in the world, unidentified men, one wearing an Avengers t-shirt, could just walk up to a person and state “you're going to have to come with us” and “you are under arrest” without identifying themselves, without charges, anything. To see Khalil being led off to an unmarked vehicle while the men ignore his wife’s pleas to identify themselves or the agency for which they work is terrifying. This is some KGB-level shit, happening on the streets of New York, to a lawful permanent resident of the United States. Remember, he has not committed a crime. The government has said this themselves.

Please share this post, or at least the video, far and wide. People need to know what the government is doing.