US immigration orders pro-Palestinian Cornell student to 'surrender'
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US immigration authorities have ordered Momodou Taal, a pro-Palestinian Cornell PhD student, to surrender, marking the start of deportation proceedings.
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A sign is shown written over to read "University of Palestine" at a pro-Palestine encampment on the University of Washington campus on April 29, 2024, in Seattle (AP)
According to a court filing on Friday, US immigration authorities emailed the legal team of Momodou Taal, a Cornell University student involved in pro-Palestine protests, requesting that he surrender himself.
The "notice to appear" issued by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement marks one of the initial steps in the deportation process.
Taal, a PhD candidate in Africana Studies and a dual citizen of the UK and Gambia, has taken part in pro-Palestine protests opposing the Israeli war on Gaza, which followed the October 2023 Al-Aqsa Flood operation.
US President Donald Trump has pledged to deport foreign pro-Palestine protesters, alleging they support Hamas and promote antisemitism.
Taal's attorneys have condemned the move as an attack on free speech, filing a lawsuit to prevent the deportation of protesters and have reported being doxxed.
Including some Jewish groups, protesters argue that their critics wrongly equate opposition to the Israeli occupation and advocacy for Palestine rights with "antisemitism and support for Hamas."
"ICE invites Mr. Taal and his counsel to appear in person at the (Homeland Security Investigations Office) in Syracuse at a mutually agreeable time for personal service of the (Notice to Appear) and for Mr. Taal to surrender to ICE custody," a US government email said, according to the filing on Friday.
No timeline was mentioned.
Trump's administration has also attempted to deport other foreigners in its crackdown on pro-Palestine voices. Human rights advocates have widely condemned the moves.
'I am a political prisoner': Mahmoud Khalil
Mahmoud Khalil, a well-known Palestine activist and former Columbia University student, has denounced his detention by US immigration authorities, asserting that he is being targeted for his political stance. Khalil, who was arrested in New York on March 8, remains in custody at an immigration detention facility in Louisiana after US officials revoked his green card.
In a statement on Wednesday dictated over the phone to his family and shared exclusively with The Guardian, Khalil declared: "I am a political prisoner. I am writing to you from a detention facility in Louisiana where I wake to cold mornings and spend long days bearing witness to the quiet injustices underway against a great many people precluded from the protections of the law."
Khalil, who helped organize pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University, was detained by US federal immigration officials, who claimed to be acting on a State Department directive. The activist has stated that his arrest was conducted without a warrant and that he was forcibly taken in an unmarked vehicle.
He contends that his detention is a direct consequence of his activism in support of Palestine and his opposition to Israel's ongoing military actions in Gaza. "My arrest was a direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza, which resumed in full force Monday night," he said.
