Federal agents detained a Columbia University student early Thursday after Department of Homeland Security officers allegedly gained access to a university-owned residence by presenting a fake missing person poster of a 5-year-old. As news broke of the student, Ellie Aghayeva, and her detention, students and community members rallied en masse demanding her release and an end to immigration…
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Newly unsealed memos by the State Department on the Trump administration’s push to deport pro-Palestine student advocates have confirmed that officials knew the cases against the students were shaky and likely to run up against their First Amendment rights. The documents were unsealed by a federal judge on Thursday. The case, brought by academic groups, has been full of bombshell revelations…
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A federal appeals court on Thursday delivered the Trump administration a victory in its efforts to deport Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, opening the door for his rearrest. Khalil was a graduate student at Columbia University when he was arrested in March and detained for months. He missed the birth of his son, Deen, while in detention. “The Trump administration is trying everything in its…
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A federal appeals court has reversed a June court decision to release pro-Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil from immigration detention, marking a major win for the Trump administration amid its ongoing push to deport him. In a two-to-one decision on Thursday, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled that the lower federal court did not have jurisdiction over the immigration…
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Tens of thousands of New Yorkers braved freezing temperatures and police barricades to be part of Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration as mayor on New Year’s Day. Democracy Now! spoke with many Mamdani supporters, including a high school student and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, about what the day represented to them, their hopes for the new administration and how it could set a model for…
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A major immigration crackdown is underway in New Orleans and the surrounding areas of Louisiana, dubbed “Operation Catahoula Crunch” by the Trump administration. According to planning documents, 250 federal agents will aim to make 5,000 arrests over two months. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says the operation will target “the worst of the worst,” though the number of arrests being…
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