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Constitutional CRISIS: Legal resident detained without charge, accused of “antisemitism” for speaking against Israel’s actions in Gaza
By ljdevon // 2025-03-13
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• Columbia University student and legal U.S. resident Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by federal agents without being charged with any crime. • Khalil is being held in an immigration detention center under vague allegations of "terrorist activity" and "antisemitism." • The Trump administration’s actions violate the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees due process and free speech protections to all persons, not just citizens. • Historical parallels to the Alien and Sedition Acts reveal a dangerous pattern of federal overreach targeting dissenters and non-citizens. In a chilling display of federal overreach, Columbia University student and legal U.S. resident Mahmoud Khalil was arrested last week by federal agents and is now being held in an immigration detention center. Despite holding a green card and having no immigration-related infractions or criminal charges against him, Khalil’s detention has sparked outrage among civil liberties advocates and constitutional scholars. The Trump administration has vaguely accused him of "terrorist activity" and enforcing its executive order on antisemitism, yet no specific crime has been named. This brazen disregard for due process and free speech protections raises alarming questions about the erosion of constitutional rights in the United States.

The Constitution protects all persons

The arrest of Mahmoud Khalil is a stark reminder of the Trump administration’s ongoing assault on the First Amendment of U.S. Constitution, all for the sake of protecting a foreign nation at war - Israel. The administration has long operated under the false premise that non-citizens do not enjoy the full protections of the Bill of Rights. This notion is not only legally baseless but also directly contradicts the intent of the Founding Fathers. As David Cole, a legal scholar, noted in the Thomas Jefferson Law Review, the Constitution explicitly extends due process, equal protection, and fundamental rights to all "persons" within the United States, regardless of citizenship status. The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee due process and equal protection to all individuals, while the First Amendment protects free speech and religious freedoms for "the people." The Framers deliberately chose not to limit these rights to citizens, ensuring that the federal government could not strip individuals of their natural rights by denying them citizenship. James Madison himself argued that those subject to the obligations of the legal system must also be entitled to its protections. Historian Wang Xi further emphasizes that the Bill of Rights uses the terms "people" and "persons" rather than "citizens," underscoring that these rights predate citizenship and are inherent to all individuals. By detaining Khalil without charge, the Trump administration is not only violating his constitutional rights but also undermining the very foundation of American liberty.

A dangerous echo of the Alien and Sedition Acts

The current administration’s actions bear a disturbing resemblance to the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, a dark chapter in American history. During the John Adams administration, the Federalist Party exploited fears of French revolutionary influence to pass laws granting the president sweeping powers to deport and imprison alleged enemies of the state. These laws were used to silence critics and suppress dissent, targeting both non-citizens and citizens alike. The Alien and Sedition Acts were eventually allowed to expire under the Jefferson administration, but the precedent they set has resurfaced repeatedly during times of national hysteria. From the xenophobia of World War I to the McCarthyism of the Cold War, the federal government has repeatedly sought to expand its powers at the expense of individual rights. The Trump administration’s targeting of Khalil under vague allegations of antisemitism and terrorism is a modern-day manifestation of this authoritarian impulse.

The fake "crime" of federally defined "antisemitism"

The Trump administration’s justification for Khalil’s arrest is particularly troubling. Initially, officials claimed he was detained to enforce the president’s executive order on antisemitism. Later, they shifted to accusing him of distributing "pro-Hamas propaganda." Both allegations are thinly-veiled attempts to criminalize speech and dissent, actions that are unequivocally protected under the First Amendment. The executive order on antisemitism is a thinly disguised tool to suppress criticism of the State of Israel. While acts of violence and vandalism are already illegal, the administration’s focus on "antisemitism" as a special category of crime is a blatant overreach. As conservatives once rightly argued, hate crime laws that criminalize speech or thought are inherently unconstitutional. The First Amendment guarantees the right to express unpopular or even offensive opinions, provided they do not incite violence or directly threaten individuals. Khalil’s real "crime" appears to be his criticism of Israel, a stance that has drawn the ire of the Trump administration. If he had protested any other issue, he would likely still be a free man. This selective enforcement of the law is a hallmark of authoritarian regimes, not constitutional democracies. The detention of Mahmoud Khalil is not an isolated incident but a symptom of a broader constitutional crisis. By targeting a legal resident for his speech and denying him due process, the Trump administration is trampling on the very principles that define the United States as a free society. The Founding Fathers explicitly designed the Bill of Rights to protect individuals from such abuses of power, recognizing that natural rights are inherent and cannot be voided by the whims of government. Sources include: Mises.org APNews.com Enoch, Brighteon.ai
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