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The Trump administration's communication around the arrest of Columbia University student protest negotiator, Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder, has brought more questions than answers. Not only is it unclear what evidence, if any, the administration is using to initiate deportation proceedings, but his arrest has also spurred questions about the rights of permanent residents and whether the administration can simply go after someone based on their speech.
Here’s what legal experts say about his arrest, the Trump administration’s actions so far, and what it could mean for other immigrants:
Can a green card holder even be deported? What authority is the Trump administration using to detain Khalil and possibly deport him?
Yes, a green card holder (or lawful permanent resident) can be deported. The most common way is if they committed a crime.
But in Khalil’s case, he has not been charged with any crime. Instead, Secretary of State Marco Rubio personally signed off on targeting Khalil using a narrow, little-used authority from the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as Zeteo previously reported.
Under the provision – section 237(a)(4)(C)(i) – an immigrant who is not a citizen or US national, but “whose presence or 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 is deportable.”
While the provision has an exception for conduct deemed “lawful” in the US (such as free speech), the exception has an exception: if the secretary of state “personally determines that the alien's admission would compromise a compelling United States foreign policy interest.” That personal determination seems to be driving Rubio’s insistence that the Trump administration can deport legal permanent residents whom it deems to be “pro-Hamas.”
