You are urged to attend an important press conference tomorrow Tuesday, March 18th at 4:00 pm on the front steps of Portland City Hall, 389 Congress Street. It is in response to the arrest, detention and proposed deportation of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil. Khalil was arrested from his apartment over the weekend by ICE officers, making a significant shift in the Executive branch’s application of immigration enforcement powers. Speakers will connect Khalil’s arrest to escalating repression, detainment and deportation of refugee and immigrant communities under the Trump administration.
Sources from the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department have confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio personally approved Mahmoud Khalil’s detention on the grounds that his activism against the Gaza genocide would ‘compromise’ US foreign policy. Mr. Khalil, a Columbia University student and protest negotiator, faces deporttion not due to any legal violation, but solely based on Rubio’s personal judgment — an extraordinary and dangerous overreach of executive power.
Faisal Khan, a civil rights activist and organizer of the press conference, said: “This case marks a grave moment for civil liberties in America. The Trump administration, under the direct influence of Donald Trump, is orchestrating Khalil’s deportation without legal justification — an abuse of power that strikes at the heart of the Constitution and its guarantees.” He continued, “Silencing dissent through political persecution is a clear violation of the First Amendment and a decisive step toward authoritarianism. This dangerous precedent must not be allowed to take root in the US. We cannot allow this Administration to undermine constitutional rights and intimidate those who speak up. The fight for Mahmoud Khalil’s freedom is a fight for the preservation of American democracy itself.”
Maine community activists, lawyers and elected officials will gather to address the violaltion of the First Amendment rights and civil liberties represented by this case, the first in which Trump Administration officials say will be “many arrests to come” of peaceful protestors according to the press release issued this morning by the Coalition for Palestine.
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) is one of 100 members of Congress to have signed a letter demanding Khalil’s immediate release and the only member of the Maine delegation to sign the letter so far as well. She said: “The arrest of Mahmoud Khalil — whose only ‘crime’ was speaking his mind — is a violent abuse of power. We cannot be silent. Not now, not ever. The letter the Congresswoman signed demanded Khalil’s immediate release. The letter was circulated by: Rep. Pramila Jayapal, (D-WI), Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA)
A representative from Senator Angus King’s Washington, DC office, Charlie from New York City, said today that he had no idea what the Senator was thinking on this subject because it’s not in his job description.! If you want to try to find out what the Senator is thinking, call his Washington, DC office at: 202 – 224-5344. Maybe Charlie is now up to speed on current events!