If Donald Trump thought that few Americans were concerned about the deportation of Arab student protest leaders accused of supporting terrorism and anti-Semitism at elite universities, and he was wrong in a few numbers.
Trump accused student Mahmoud Khalil of being a “prohama” and welcomed the immigrants detention in front of his pregnant American wife.
However, the disappearance of Palestinian activists who led the protest against the Israeli war in Gaza at Columbia University has been widely criticized by MAW of the deportation process. Congressional Democrats accused Trump of “opposed.” Others have described the administration’s actions as “the greatest threat to freedom of speech since the red scare.”
The resulting uproar over the attitude and legitimacy of Halil’s arrest is accompanied by accusations that Jewish groups and Trump is exploiting legitimate concerns as a cover for a broader assault on universities, dissent and diversity programs.
“It is clear to everyone that what’s going on here and on this campus is not about protecting Jews,” said Professor Marianne Hirsch, a member of the Colombian Jewish teaching group.
“My dedicated Jewish faculty colleagues and I have warned that the false characterization of (Columbia University) as a breeding ground for anti-Semitism would be used as an alibi for the establishment of the Republican Party and what is actually at stake in the current Trump administration.
A federal judge is considering a petition to temporarily block Halil’s deportation and return to New York from a Louisiana detention center.
However, the administration has shown no indication that it will set back its resolve to cut foreign students at the forefront of pro-Palestinian protests as part of a broader campaign against what it considers a liberal, leftist objection on campus nationwide. It is also no coincidence that it has a certain anger for Colombia as a melting pot of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs that are deeply undermined by the administration.
The day before Halil’s detention, the Trump administration subtracted $400 million in federal funds to Columbia, despite protesting against the support of the Biden administration, including promoting a ban on groups such as the war in Gaza and the support of the Biden administration, and the arrest of Pawan’s Jews.
The U.S. Education Bureau has warned 60 other universities that it is scrutinizing their response to anti-Semitism allegations on campus, and that they may face “enforcement actions” that meant more funding cuts.
That action was followed by another announcement examining 45 universities for “racial emission practices in graduate programs.”
Professor Michael Thadeus, Columbia’s mathematics professor and leader of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), described the cut to federal aid and Halil’s arrest as a “pincer attack” by Trump. He said that Colombia may have drawn the regime’s rage as a fortress of liberal elitism, but that other universities should not deceive themselves that they are not targets either.
“There’s an attack on people’s rights with one hand and livelihoods with the other,” he said.
“Both are equally dangerous in their own unique way. The Right wants to refund the Left, and it’s no secret that they see the University as a left fortress… that won’t stop in Colombia. They want to hold back all objections.”
The White House puts additional pressure on Colombia by accusing Colombia of not helping with the arrest of other nominated individuals accused of “Prohama activities,” saying the university needs to make major changes to its disciplinary and anti-Semitism policies as a condition for regaining funds. On Thursday, the school announced many disciplinary measures last year for students who occupy the school building, including expulsion and suspension.
Colombian leadership warns students who are not social media posts that are not US citizens are sympathetic posts to Palestinians, saying these are “dangerous times” and “no one can protect you.”
Sama Sisai, one of Halil’s lawyers, accused the White House of sacrificing a client who has not been accused of crime for political purposes.
“What we’ve seen from the Trump administration since its inauguration in January is an attempt to show power and say that anyone who opposes this administration or opposes this administration could be targeted,” she said.
The rationale for Halil’s detention is an obscure immigration clause that allows for the deportation of those deemed harmful to US foreign policy. That rationale will almost certainly be used against others who denounce Israel’s war in Gaza, where around 50,000 Palestinians were killed. Although most of them were thought to be women and children, some studies have found this figure significantly higher.
Last year, the Right-wing Heritage Foundation raised its Deportation Action Plan as part of Project Esther. It was named after the biblical character, which was extremely important in saving Jews from extinction during the Persian Empire. The initiative was supported by several pro-Israel groups, including the American Zionist institutions.
Other pro-Israeli activists have identified Trump administration students for detention and deportation. These include Betar US, modeled after a Zionist paramilitary youth organization a century ago.
Several Jewish groups and leaders opposed the promotion of deportation, including T’ruah, a rabbis-led rights network.
“Frontlords (immigrants) as the main threat to Jewish security are not only morally irresponsible, but also dangerous to Jews and American society,” the group said in a letter signed by hundreds of rabbis.
Sisai said the arrests and other actions against the university were response to a massive protest against the Biden administration’s support of Israel’s attacks on Gaza, including the supply of arms.
“This not only creates a calm effect on students on university campuses, but also creates a frightening effect not only for Palestine but also for those engaged in activism against other issues like environmental justice. That’s the broader message sent here.”
Thaddeus acknowledged that Columbia is vulnerable to political attacks as a multi-billion dollar elite institution to the Trust Fund while receiving $400 million in taxpayer grants and multi-billion dollar research grants.
“Of course we are vulnerable. We have huge donations, but if federal funds and tuition funds are taken away, we will burn that donation right away,” he said.
Columbia and other universities have remained more open to Trump’s political attacks by mainstream Democratic politicians, including Sen. Chuck Schumer, who sided with pro-Israel activists when Israeli activists protest as essentially anti-Semitic.
The university is struggling to deal with it
The university is also the focus of Trump’s attack on the Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) program. The administration quickly followed the blueprint provided by Christopher Loufo, a right-wing activist who served as a councillor at New College in Florida and helped to abolish Gov. Ron DeSantis’s DEI division.
Rufo advised Trump to do the same thing throughout American academia and move quickly and decisively to ignore the inevitable rage. This is a strategy that the administration appears to be following.
More than 240 universities in 36 states have abolished at least some of the DEI initiatives, according to higher education records. Some have removed the requirement to complete diversity courses to graduate. Others have removed the website to ensure that it is not inseparable to Trump’s minions, taking into account Day’s new name and massaged course content.
Trump also threatened to withhold funds from universities that do not promote “patriotic” education.
Some universities are being pushed back. Princeton President Christopher Eisguver said the university will wait until its legal status is revealed, rather than acting on all orders from the Trump administration. AAUP joined other groups when filing lawsuits against the DEI ban as unconstitutional.
Khalil’s wife Noor Abdalla said she sued Colombia for protection a week before her arrest during a “stimulating targeted dox campaign.”
“Anti-Palestinian organizations were spreading false claims about my husband. They were making threats against Mahmoud and he was very concerned about his safety that I emailed Columbia University on March 7th,” she said.
She said “he asked the university for legal assistance,” but he didn’t respond.
Columbia President Katrina Armstrong understands “the pain that many of you are feeling” about the presence of immigrant staff around campus, but responded to Halil’s arrest by telling faculty and students that the university “comply with the law.”
Armstrong said Columbia is facing a “challenging moment” but will “continue to fight for freedom of expression, open investigation, broad perspective and respectful debate.”
She added that the university is “working with several federal agencies and doing everything it can to address their legitimate concerns and take corrective action to restore funds under the law.”
Critics accused Armstrong of implicitly justifying the actions of the Trump administration by using the phrase “legitimate concern.”
Thadeus described the university’s response to Trump’s attack as “lukewarm” and “bland.”
“It’s a shame. Clearly there’s a lot of pressure on them. It’s time to stand up and defend America’s education, intellectual life, freedom of expression, and especially the freedom that students and faculty are not arrested by immigrant police,” he said.
