President Donald Trump’s crackdown on free speech has now gone far beyond attacking the media and punishing his critics, as he and his administration continue to detain and trying to deport legal immigrants for their pro-Palestine views.
These arrests began with Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil – who helped lead the university’s pro-Palestine protests – but have now gone on to include Georgetown scholar Badar Khan Suri, who was arrested by masked agents outside his home in Arlington, Virginia, last week.
In this interview, Suri’s attorney Hassan Ahmad joins Mehdi to discuss the status of Suri’s case, the law that’s being used against him, and what it means for free speech.
“We are talking about constitutionally-protected political speech. We're talking about speech that has historically enjoyed the greatest level, the strongest level of protection from the First Amendment,” Ahmad says. “That is what this administration has seen fit to attack and that should concern every single American.”
Ahmad tells Mehdi that Suri has been taken through several different detention centers, and has now been placed a thousand miles away from his family, in a Texas detention center.
He believes the Trump administration essentially arrested Suri due to “guilt by association,” referring to his father-in-law who was formerly an advisor for Hamas.
Ahmad explains how concerning it is to see the government attack Suri because of his familial ties, saying that Suri’s father-in-law is,“a person that, according to the information that we have, he [Suri] has met twice in his entire life, doesn't really know, and has not had any sort of meaningful relationship with.”
If you're a paid subscriber, you can watch the full interview above to hear Ahmad discuss what Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestine speech means for other legal immigrants, and whether the government will soon attempt to deport naturalized citizens.
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