By Chris Menahan – Information Liberation
The Anti-Defamation League on Sunday cheered the Trump administration’s “bold” decision to arrest pro-Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil and said they “hope that this action serves as a deterrent to others.”
The ADL, which is being run by CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, released the following statement Sunday night on X:
We firmly believe there should be swift and severe consequences for those who provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations, incite violence in support of terrorist activities, or conceal their identities in order to harass and intimidate Jewish individuals and institutions with impunity.
We appreciate the Trump Administration’s broad, bold set of efforts to counter campus antisemitism — and this action further illustrates that resolve by holding alleged perpetrators responsible for their actions.
Obviously, any deportation action or revocation of a Green Card or visa must be undertaken in alignment with required due process protections. We also hope that this action serves as a deterrent to others who might consider breaking the law on college campuses or anywhere.
This is the same dynamic I highlighted last week on the ADL/Trump’s proposed mask ban, where the ADL put forward the idea to ban masks at anti-Israel protests and then distanced themselves from the Trump administration’s blatantly unconstitutional implementation of their agenda while claiming they’re all for due process.
As I said at the time, the ADL is effectively using Trump as their attack dog.
Unsurprisingly, the Trump administration’s deportation order was temporarily blocked by a federal judge on Monday, as ABC News reports:
A federal judge has blocked the removal of a Palestinian activist from the United States while weighing a petition challenging his arrest, court documents show.
Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Columbia University over the weekend, despite having a green card, his attorney told ABC News, sparking an outcry from civil rights groups. His attorneys subsequently filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his arrest.
“To preserve the Court’s jurisdiction pending a ruling on the petition, Petitioner shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court orders otherwise,” Judge Jesse Furman wrote in a notice ordering a conference for Wednesday morning in the case.
Khalil is a legal permanent resident of the US and his wife is a US citizen, which will likely further complicate the Trump administration’s attempt to have him deported.
Ann Coulter even noted on X how the move to have Khalil deported is a blatant attack on the First Amendment (and it’s being done on behalf of a foreign power).
Trump campaigned on restoring free speech and mass deporting illegal aliens but instead he’s trying to make it illegal to criticize Jews and Israel and deporting legal permanent residents for opposing Israel’s genocide in Gaza.