Judge allows Trump administration to continue to detain Mahmoud Khalil
NBCJUN 14
Columbia Protester Mahmoud Khalil Released on Bail
Above: Mahmoud Khalil (C) at Columbia University on June 1, 2024. Image copyright: Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
Judge Farbiarz, an Obama appointee in a liberal jurisdiction, has no grounds whatsoever to intercede on behalf of a foreign national who has helped foment antisemitism on campus here in the U.S. It is a privilege, not a right, to be a student here. An unelected judge has no right to frustrate the administration's push to clean up the immigration system and restore sanity to higher education.
Anti-Trump narrative
The detention of Mahmoud Khalil was politically motivated, and he will finally be released from immigration detention. The harassment of international students by the Trump administration is unconstitutional and goes against American values by punishing free speech. This disturbing totalitarian turn on the part of Trump must be resisted, and the American way must be upheld on the left and right.