OPINION:
Immigration Judge Jamee Comans has ruled that Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who organized pro-Hamas rallies immediately after that terrorist organization killed more than 1,000 Israelis, can be deported. If you are surprised, you are not paying attention.
This case was a slam dunk for the feds, and it doesn’t mean every foreign student needs to panic. The facts against Mr. Khalil are especially damning. Other cases could raise sharper questions about free speech, but it would be foolish to die on this hill.
As a law professor, sometimes I require my students to read the law. Sometimes, interpreting statutes is hard. Some rules are long and boring. However, the law regarding deportable aliens is straightforward. Let’s read the Code of Federal Regulations together: “An alien 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.”
Let’s review the facts. Mr. Khalil is a lawful permanent resident (LPR), which makes him an alien. Macro Rubio, the secretary of state, declared that he personally determined Mr. Khalil is bad for foreign policy. An immigration judge ruled that Mr. Rubio had reasonable grounds for this belief.
Now, let’s apply the facts to the law. Alien? Check. Secretary of state determination? Check. Reasonable? Check. This one is not hard.
ABC News called it a “stunning move,” but you would be stunned only if you can’t read.
The Hill took pains to quote Mr. Khalil’s pregnant wife. About half the news stories covering the deportation focused on how she will give birth this month. Legally, that is entirely irrelevant.
What’s relevant is that Mr. Khalil organized rallies to hand out Hamas-branded propaganda. Also relevant is that Hamas is a U.S.-designed foreign terrorist organization.
Let’s step back and address the First Amendment concerns. To be clear, citizens have the right to political speech, even hate speech. Material support of terrorist organizations, however, crosses legal lines.
Also, there seem to be misconceptions about what lawful permanent resident (what we call “green card” holder”) means. An LPR is not a citizen but is legally allowed to live and work in the United States. Permanent, meaning indefinite, contrasts with temporary, meaning for a specific fixed period, such as a student visa that expires one year after graduation. It does not mean forever, regardless of anything. That would be the definition of “citizen.”
An LPR can lose his green card for a lot of reasons. Because LPRs are in the U.S. as a courtesy, based on what law calls American “hospitality,” they can lose that status when their presence conflicts with other American interests, just like you can ask a houseguest to leave if they are upsetting your children by cussing too much.
Feds can boot an LPR who “endorses or espouses terrorist activity or persuades others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity or support a terrorist organization.” Mr. Khalil probably did this. Lawsuits against him claim Mr. Khalil materially supported terrorists, but it doesn’t matter. The feds need one reason to revoke a green card.
LPRs have First Amendment rights, but because they are subject to removal procedures under the Immigration and Nationality Act we read earlier, LPRs’ ability to make that speech and remain in this country is limited in ways citizens’ rights are not.
Should you worry? My legal answer: That depends.
If you are in the United States unlawfully, you should definitely worry that President Trump is working hard to find and deport you. Mr. Trump made that very clear.
If you are here lawfully but have been supporting Hamas or disrupting foreign relations, yes, you should worry about getting deported. Mr. Trump expressed this with words and actions.
If you are an LPR who is not making waves, you might realize your status is indefinite, not forever. Your LPR status could be revoked because of trade wars or other reasons. The feds have that power, although it’s less likely they will use it.
So, there is reason for noncitizens to worry about staying in Mr. Trump’s America, but there is also a lot of fearmongering. Nothing about this case, as a matter of law, should make U.S. citizens worry about getting plucked off the streets and whisked away to Guantanamo. Don’t get misled by irrelevant facts, such as whether Mr. Khalil was a student, an advocate or a soon-to-be father.
What matters is Mr. Khalil abused American hospitality. Instead of studying, he organized protests supporting terrorists. As a result, he can’t raise his family here.
• Seth Oranburg is a law professor at the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law, where he is also a faculty senator. He is also director of the Program on Organizations, Business and Markets at New York University Law School’s Classical Liberal Institute.
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