The White House says that the Columbia University student that ICE detained and is attempting to deport was circulating “pro-Hamas propaganda flyers” and that those flyers even have a Hamas logo.
Is this enough to deny the right to free speech, even to a legal immigrant that is not a U.S. citizen? What would the constitution say? Remember that the ACLU in 1977 defended the rights of Nazis to march in a town of Holocaust survivors because the fierce defense of free speech is the fabric of American society. This case calcified who we are: a people committed to the idea that free speech must include speech that you don’t like.
Free speech advocacy group FIRE says that this is not enough. “The Press Secretary used the word ‘propaganda.’ What is another word for propaganda? Speech. And that’s the problem here is that we are talking about expression.”
Is there also unlawful conduct that the government count prosecute? The public should be made aware of this because the case is not black and white. It also highlights the Western problem of having immigrants who hate the culture they have moved into. This one is tricky and uncomfortable too.
Thousands of protestors in New York City have taken to the street to protest Khalil’s deportation, leading to clashes with police.
