Grad Students being disappeared by ICE, Visas repealed by Rubio
- Thread starter nycfan
- Start date
- Replies: 189
- Views: 4K
- Politics
- Messages
- 19,060
Mohsen Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident, has lived in the United States for 10 years and was arrested in Vermont. He has not been charged with a crime.
“… His lawyers requested a temporary restraining order to prevent federal officials from transferring him to a more conservative jurisdiction — a tactic used in the detention and attempted deportation of at least four other college demonstrators.
A Vermont federal judge, William K. Sessions III, swiftly granted that request, ordering that Mr. Mahdawi, an outspoken critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, not be removed from the United States or transferred out of Vermont until he orders otherwise.
His lawyers said that as of Monday afternoon, they had confirmed that he was still in Vermont.
… Mr. Mahdawi has not been accused of a crime.
According to his lawyers, the Trump administration appears to be seeking his removal from the country under the same legal provision that it is using to detain another recent Columbia student and Palestinian, Mahmoud Khalil, contending that his presence is a threat to the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States.
Immigration officials have argued that pro-Palestinian demonstrators have enabled the spread of antisemitism, but they have not offered evidence to substantiate the claim. …”
- Messages
- 19,060
“… But Mr. Mahdawi took a step back from student organizing in March 2024, before the establishment of encampments on campus and the takeover of a campus building, Hamilton Hall. In interviews at the time, he said this was driven in part by his immigration status and his beliefs as a practicing Buddhist. For two years, he was the president of the Columbia University Buddhist Association.
He spoke publicly about his experience as a child seeing his best friend killed by an Israeli soldier, mentioning it during a “60 Minutes” interview in December 2023. But he also said he wanted a peaceful end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“My motivation comes out of love now, not out of anger, not out of hate,” he said in an interview.
As with Mr. Khalil, several hard-line pro-Israel groups have been agitating online for Mr. Mahdawi’s detention and deportation since President Trump’s return to the White House. …”
Batt Boy
Esteemed Member
- Messages
- 596
Germans growing increasingly frustrated
www.aljazeera.com
Germany wants to expel four pro-Palestine activists: What you should know
The US citizen and three European nationals who face expulsion have not been convicted of any crime.
- Messages
- 19,060
Judge says UW-Madison international student with terminated visa can't be deported for now
A federal judge barred the government from taking any action against a University of Wisconsin-Madison engineering student from India.
Judge says UW-Madison international student with terminated visa can't be deported for now
A federal judge barred the government from taking any action against a University of Wisconsin-Madison engineering student from India.
www.usatoday.com
“… The April 15 order prevents the Department of Homeland Security from revoking the student visa or detaining Krish Lal Isserdasani, 21, who was expected to graduate with a bachelor's degree in computer engineering in early May.
The request for a temporary restraining order was brought by Madison attorney Shabnam Lotfi after Isserdasani's record was terminated in the government's Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVIS) database.
… "He was given no warning, no opportunity to explain or defend himself, and no chance to correct any potential misunderstanding before his F-1 student visa record was terminated in SEVIS," the order said.
Judge William Conley of the Western District of Wisconsin handed down the order, saying Isserdasani was not convicted of a crime, and his claim of wrongful visa termination had a "reasonable likelihood of success" in the courts. He set a preliminary injunction hearing for April 28. …”
- Messages
- 19,060
Iowa State graduate's visa was terminated over traffic stop
“… Hamidreza Khademi, 34, of Iran … graduated with a master’s degree in architecture from Iowa State University in 2023 and had been working on an employment extension of his student visa overseeing infrastructure projects at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Khademi was arrested in February 2024 after an officer tried to pull him over, saying Khademi didn’t use his turn signal while changing lanes, according to the order. Khademi said he did not know the officer wanted him to stop.
The Texas Department of Public Safety determined there was no violation, according to the order. No charges were filed. Khademi had no other other interactions with law enforcement.
An email from Iowa State on April 10 informed him of the visa termination. It cited the same reason as Isserdasani’s and said his employment permit ended immediately.
The loss of his salary has created a “catastrophic financial hardship” for his family, the order said. His wife, pregnant with their first child, is due this summer.
In the order, Conley questioned whether Khademi’s claim was filed in the right court, because he seemed to have no ties to the court’s jurisdiction of western Wisconsin. He declined to rule on the motion for a temporary restraining order for Khademi, asking both parties to file additional briefs by April 16. …”
Duke Mu
Iconic Member
- Messages
- 1,002
Naturalized brown American arrested and processed without criminal evidence.
The Gestapo progression:
- illegal aliens who are criminals
- illegal aliens without a criminal record
- legal immigrants without a criminal record
- F-1. J-1 Visa holders without a criminal record
- Green card holders without a criminal record
- You
- Messages
- 19,060
Members of Congress Visit Graduate Students Being Held in Louisiana
Five Democrats met with Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk, who face deportation by the Trump administration.
5 Democrats Visit Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk in Louisiana
Five Democrats met with Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk, who face deportation by the Trump administration.
“… In Louisiana, Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Representatives Jim McGovern and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Troy Carter of Louisiana and Bennie Thompson of Mississippi met with Mr. Khalil and Ms. Ozturk and toured the facilities where they were detained. Both had been transferred hundreds of miles away from their homes and from where they were originally detained.
In a news conference outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Basile, La., where Ms. Ozturk is being held, the lawmakers argued that the government had violated the students’ constitutional rights and that both had been targeted for their political views.
“Neither of them committed any crimes,” Mr. McGovern said. “They’ve been charged with nothing.”
Mr. Markey criticized immigration officials for sending the two students to facilities in Louisiana, arguing the government did so to secure a more favorable hearing for their deportation proceedings. Louisiana has one of the most conservative appeals courts in the United States. …”
- Messages
- 19,060
Rümeysa Öztürk’s Ordeal Is Our Nation’s Disgrace
There is clear evidence of serious wrongdoing in the Tufts student’s case—and it’s all on the part of the government.
“… The other, even more disturbing possibility is that the government intentionally arrested and detained Öztürk as a challenge to the courts and the rule of law, just to see whether there remain any bounds at all on its ability to use force against those it deems to be its enemies.
Öztürk’s student visa was terminated a few days before she was scooped up, but no one bothered to convey this to her. A senior spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security claimed that DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigations found that Öztürk had “engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans.”
That was a deliberate and knowing lie.
According to a report last week in the Washington Post, the State Department had determined several days before Öztürk’s arrest that the Trump administration “had not produced any evidence showing that she engaged in antisemitic activities or made public statements supporting a terrorist organization,” according to an internal memo described to the paper.
… Her sole offense appears to be that, in March 2024, she was one of four co-authors of an op-ed in the student newspaper criticizing the university’s response to the carnage in Gaza. The piece appears to have come to the attention of the website Canary Mission, which targets pro-Palestinian students as part of its efforts to silence criticism of Israel. In February, it published Öztürk’s photo and other identifying information, claiming she had “engaged in anti-Israel activism”; the government took it from there. …”
- Messages
- 19,060
“…Michael Drescher, acting U.S. attorney for the District of Vermont, delivered an explanation of the government’s position that might have sent Kafka reaching for his pen.
He reportedly said Öztürk “is in custody because she is in removal proceedings. She was taken into custody because of her absence of status.” He added: “The fact of her detention is inextricably connected to the fact that she is in removal proceedings.”
… Drescher said he doesn’t think [Federal Judge] Sessions has the authority to order Öztürk’s release. Sessions replied by saying that if he ordered her release and the government refused, that would constitute “a constitutional crisis.”
… Last Friday, Sessions set dates for further proceedings, including two hearings in May, and ordered the government to return Öztürk to Vermont by May 1 so she could attend them, saying her arrest and detention have “raised significant constitutional concerns.” He gave the government four days to appeal, which it did Tuesday night.
In a separate proceeding on April 16, a federal immigration judge denied Öztürk’s request to be released on bond as her immigration case proceeds. He determined that she is both a flight risk and a danger to the community.
Öztürk’s attorneys argue in a brief filed with the Vermont federal district court that the immigration judge’s decision was a based solely on the State Department memo that “points to no conduct of Ms. Öztürk’s except her co-authorship of an op-ed.”
That is why Rümeysa Öztürk remains locked up. Any other explanation is a lie. …”
- Messages
- 19,060
Here is the editorial she co-authored that is being used to strip her student visa, hold her in detention a thousand miles from her campus indefinitely and ultimately deport her:
www.tuftsdaily.com
…
——
This sort of student editorial is so familiar to me from my years working at the DTH (OMG nearly 40 years ago now!) while I was in college that it made me first smile in recognition of how little things change in some ways, then ache for this woman’s experience and our country for allowing it.
Op-ed: Try again, President Kumar: Renewing calls for Tufts to adopt March 4 TCU Senate resolutions - The Tufts Daily
The independent student newspaper of Tufts University
www.tuftsdaily.com
…
——
This sort of student editorial is so familiar to me from my years working at the DTH (OMG nearly 40 years ago now!) while I was in college that it made me first smile in recognition of how little things change in some ways, then ache for this woman’s experience and our country for allowing it.
BlooVooDoo
Iconic Member
- Messages
- 1,486
Wow. There is nothing in that editorial that is remotely offensive or anti-Semitic. I don’t even think people who disagree with the opinions expressed would argue the rhetoric or tone was inappropriate. Rubio should be brought before Congress to justify revocation of her visa.Here is the editorial she co-authored that is being used to strip her student visa, hold her in detention a thousand miles from her campus indefinitely and ultimately deport her:
Op-ed: Try again, President Kumar: Renewing calls for Tufts to adopt March 4 TCU Senate resolutions - The Tufts Daily
The independent student newspaper of Tufts University
…
——
This sort of student editorial is so familiar to me from my years working at the DTH (OMG nearly 40 years ago now!) while I was in college that it made me first smile in recognition of how little things change in some ways, then ache for this woman’s experience and our country for allowing it.
- Messages
- 19,060
Any day now? Already?
- Messages
- 909
Truly shameful shit. I don’t know anything about Canary Mission but they sound like some evil zealots.
superrific
Legend of ZZL
- Messages
- 7,303
Rubio: Look at this stuff I found in the seminars.
Trump: What's a seminar?
Elon: It's like a humidor for your jizz. The one I have is great.
JD Vance: I think that's called a couch
Elon: No, that's where you spread your seeds, not where you store them.
superrific
Legend of ZZL
- Messages
- 7,303
LOL, ICE cop typed yesturday.
I'll grant him this: we have had a lot of turd days since late January.
I'll grant him this: we have had a lot of turd days since late January.