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Alianza Americas condemns the politically motivated and unlawful detention of Mahmoud Khalil by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on March 8, 2025. Mahmoud Khalil is a permanent resident of the United States who is being persecuted for his political activism as a graduate student at Columbia University. He has not been charged with a crime and there has been no transparency on the administration's decision to arrest and detain Khalil. He organized and raised his voice around a cause close to his heart and his identity as a Palestinian man.
Universities are a natural space to learn and build political consciousness, and dissent should not be silenced in a country that claims to uphold freedom as one of its core values. The detention and attempt to remove Khalil is a dangerous precedent that seeks to silence immigrant and Palestinian voices. His transfer to another state is unjustified, particularly by a government supposedly concerned with reducing public expenditure. It is simply another tactic to distract and silence public outrage. Khalil’s removal has been put on hold due to a judicial order. Judicial protection was the last resort that prevented an arbitrary and unlawful action from being executed by the administration.
Alianza Americas calls on every person who values freedom and justice to raise their voice and share their concern with elected officials and members of the Trump administration. In the United States of America, immigrants have rights, including freedom of speech and peaceful assembly. A permanent resident should not be arbitrarily detained and attempted to be removed from the country for expressing their ideas. We will not be silenced!
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