By Jan Willms
Across the country, students on a student visa or the holder of a Green Card who protest against the killing of thousands in Gaza or sign their name to an op-ed against the war in the Middle East have found themselves picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and sent to remote parts of the country where they sit in detention waiting to be evicted from the United States.
In Minnesota, more than two dozen college students of primarily Middle Eastern ethnicity have been swept up by ICE officials.
“We are supposed to live in a country where everyone gets due process and everyone is entitled to a hearing,” said Dr. David Schultz, a professor of political science and legal studies at Hamline University.
He said the Trump administration is looking for courts that are more sympathetic to its requests, as more than one student has been sent to detention in Louisiana.
“I teach American politics, and if you read the Declaration of Independence, a part of it is about a statement of grievances against the King of England,” Schultz continued. “He has moved us to far distant places to put us on trial. This is part of what the Trump administration is doing.”
Schultz said the administration is trying to instill fear, committing high publicity actions and sending students to different courts and different detention centers, making it harder for them to mount a defense. They are also being sent away from their families and support systems.
“Their actions have created isolation for these detainees,” Schultz said.
He said a Green Card entitles its holder to all of the rights of Americans except the right to vote. So far, in many of these cases, the students and other detained immigrants have not been given due process.
In the case of Mahmoud Khalil (at the time of this interview), he has not been given a hearing to determine the legality of his being in this country, and no evidence against him has been presented, according to Schultz. Khalil is a graduate student at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs who was a leading voice in protests against the war in Gaza.
Another student from Tufts University is allegedly being held because she was a co-author on an op ed citing the rights of Palestinians. “There is an effort to silence these students,” Schultz stated.
“Reactionary governments do not like academics, intellectuals or students,” he said.
The Connector reached out to several local students, but none would talk even anonymously, citing safety concerns.
Schultz noted that the United States is supposed to be a home for poets, who can criticize, analyze, second-guess and dream
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