Trump Administration’s Attacks on Fundamental Constitutional Rights. Part 2
Under the First Amendment, we are guaranteed freedom of speech and freedom of association and the rights to petition our government for redress of grievances.
Under the 5th and 14th Amendments we are guaranteed due process of law before our life, our liberties, and our property can be taken away by government action.
The Constitutional rights and protections against government action apply to all persons whether they are US citizens, legal permanent residents (green card holders), or undocumented individuals. The Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State and the White House are making a concerted effort to exclude people based on their political beliefs and political associations.
Mahmoud Khalil is legal permanent resident of the US; he is married and expecting a child shortly. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgj5nlxz44yo He is a Palestinian and was involved in student protests in 2024 at Columbia University where he was a Masters student at the School of Public Affairs. He served as a spokesperson and a mediator with the University on behalf of the students demonstrating on behalf of the Palestinians being bombed and killed in Gaza.
The Trump Administration has arrested him and is seeking to revoke his green card and deport him, saying he was providing material support for Hamas, a terrorist organization. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgj5nlxz44y His lawyers say he was exercising his free speech and association rights and his rights to petition the government for redress of grievances – reversing US support of Israel’s killing of Palestinians in Gaza. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgj5nlxz44y
Student protests and petitions across the nation now seek freedom for Khalil who is being held in a detention center in Louisiana, far from his pregnant wife in New York City. https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/11/us/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-ice-green-card-hnk/index.html Trump has said this is the first arrest with many more to come.
A physician and professor at Brown University was deported to Lebanon for having photos of Shia religious leaders on her phone, despite a federal judge’s order that she not be deported. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/17/brown-university-rasha-alawieh-deported-lebanon and https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/17/rasha-alawieh-deportation-026038 Dr. Alawieh was a specialist in kidney transplants admitted on a work visa due to her extraordinary medical skills; she has been a US resident since 2018. She had attended the funeral of Sheikh Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, while in Lebanon on a visit, and was returning to the US; she explained to the Border Patrol officer that he was an important Shia religious figure, in addition to his political role, and that she herself was apolitical but religious. They whisked her out of the country despite the federal judge’s order not to do so, claiming they didn’t know about the judge’s order. Her lawyers are seeking to reverse her exclusion. https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/17/us/brown-university-doctor-deported-hnk/index.html Brown University has now warned all its international students and staff about the dangers of travel abroad due to the Trump Administration’s recent activities in limiting freedoms of speech and association. https://www.npr.org/2025/03/18/nx-s1-5330931/brown-university-warns-students-about-travel-abroad-after-doctor-deported