Fox News’ Jonathan Turley Calls Out Trump Administration’s ‘Troubling’ Case Against Detained Columbia Student
Ted Shaffrey/AP photo
Fox News’ Jonathan Turley called the Trump administration’s deportation case against Mahmoud Khalil “troubling” on Friday.
Last month, authorities detained Khalil with the intention of deporting him over his participation in campus protests of Israel. In a short memo submitted to the court overseeing Khalil’s case, Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote, “Under INA section 237(a)(4)(C)(), an alien is deportable from the United States if the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe that the alien’s presence or activities in the United States would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States” and “Under INA section 237(a)(4)(C)(ii), for cases in which the basis for this determination is the alien’s past, current, or expected beliefs, statements, or associations that are otherwise lawful, the Secretary of State must personally determine that the alien’s presence or activities would compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest.”
Rubio went on to argue that Khalil’s role in “antisemitic protests and disruptive activities…fosters a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States.”
Turley was unmoved by the memo.
“Yesterday, the Administration took a troubling turn in the case of Mahmoud Khalil,” he wrote on X. “Previously, it indicated that Khalil had participated in criminal acts and was tied to Hamas. That would be a valid basis for deportation that did not contravene free speech values.”
“Now,” he continued, “Secretary Rubio concedes that Khalil’s activities would be ‘otherwise lawful’ and asserts the right to deport solely on his political views. That moves the case from conduct to content for free speech purposes.”
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin had originally stated the following about Khalil’s detention:
On March 9, 2025, in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism, and in coordination with the Department of State, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student. Khalil led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization. ICE and the Department of State are committed to enforcing President Trump’s executive orders and to protecting U.S. national security.
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