First Amendment

 NPR-  Several international university students who have spoken out against the war in Gaza have been taken in recent weeks by immigration agents. Plainclothes agents arrested Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil in his university housing, even though he was a legal permanent resident. Masked agents, again in plain clothes, detained Turkish graduate student Rumeysa Öztürk as she walked to meet friends. These actions raise concerns among free speech advocates across the political spectrum, who worry that more students could be targeted for their views.

"This is what happens in a dictatorship, and these are test cases," said Eric Lee, a lawyer representing Momodou Taal, a Cornell University Ph.D. student and advocate for Palestinian rights who had his visa revoked. Lee emphasized that if the government can act in this manner, then it can target anyone in the U.S., and citizenship won’t protect individuals.

Listen to Taal’s lawyers discuss the potential repercussions of the crackdown on international students' viewpoints and its broader implications for society.