The Madison branch of the 50501 Movement gathered at the Capitol on Saturday to protest the Trump administration’s detention of Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
ICE detained Khalil, a permanent legal resident, without being shown a warrant and had his student visa and green card revoked.
“[President Donald Trump] has decided he can send armed federal agents to someone's home, arrest and deport them for what they say at a protest. People who are in the United States on a visa have equal First Amendment rights and the right to free speech, so arresting [Khalil] for what he says at a protest is a direct violation of the First Amendment,” Madison resident Julie Mankowski told The Daily Cardinal at the protest.
Khalil’s arrest is part of Trump’s declared promise to deport international students who participated in pro-Palestine Protests. Green cards can only be revoked if accused of a crime, which Khalil has not been. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Khalil’s detention is part of the U.S. government’s efforts to combat antisemitism, claiming Khalil’s presence would “undermine” this policy objective.
Protester Carry Mclung denounced the move as “executive overreach” during the rally.
“I'm worried about what that says about how anybody who speaks out against this administration — what's going to happen to any of us?” Mclung told the Cardinal. “I think that that should be alarming for every American citizen.”
The University of Wisconsin-Madison, along with over 60 other universities, may face increased federal funding cuts in response to the Trump administration’s accusations of allegedly failing to address antisemitism during past pro-Palestine protests.
“This is fascism. We are now living in a fascist country. We're not moving towards authoritarianism — we're here,” Mclung said.
