The Trump administration reports that it has begun targeting legal permanent residents, well known as “green card” holders.
“The concept that the US Congress has no right to pass immigration laws that regulate conduct that includes alien speeches is close to frivolous,” William Jacobson, a law professor at Cornell University and founder of the Equality Protection Project, told Fox News Digital.
Comments come as President Donald Trump's deportation efforts reportedly spread to several green cardholders who are legal permanent residents of the United States but are not US citizens. Green cardholders have been targeted for reasons including alleged support for terrorist organizations and anti-US sentiment, raising questions about the constitutional rights of this legitimate immigration group.
While green cardholders have rights protected by the constitution, Jacobson also said they are subject to the US Immigration Act, a set of rules that US citizens do not face.
The video shows the arrest of Colombian anti-Israel ring leader Mahmoud Khalil
Mahmoud Khalil's lawsuit fired protesters who denounced President Donald Trump's push in support of anti-Israel agitators in the US on a visa. (Getty Images)
“The focus is on the right to free speech. Green cardholders, actually everyone in the country, have a First Amendment free speech, but that's just the first part of the equation,” Jacobson said. “The second part of the equation is that, in the case of non-citizens, it is also governed by immigration laws that do not apply to citizens. Therefore, the government is being enforced to enforce those laws to the extent that it is possible here to provide basis under the immigration law for the removal of foreigners, whether it is visa removal or green cards.”
At the heart of this debate is the case of Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University student who was arrested by federal immigration authorities this month and faces accusations of support for Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
Halil, a 30-year-old green cardholder who is married to a US citizen, also faces accusations that he is not true about his previous employment in the Middle East regarding his visa application.
Jacobson said there are several ways the government can take to remove Halil from the country, despite being given legitimate procedures through the immigration system.
“I think there are a lot of grounds for getting rid of him, or at least potential grounds for getting rid of him.
President Donald Trump listens to White House Advisor David Sachs as he signs the executive order in his oval office on January 23, 2025 (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Columbia student claims that classmates arrested by ice “hate America”
These immigration rules apply to all visa and green card holders, and in some cases, to those who naturalize US citizens, Jacobson said.
He pointed to the case of Rasmea Odeh, a former American citizen convicted in an Israeli military court for his involvement in the 1969 supermarket bombing in Jerusalem. Ode received a life sentence and spent 10 years in prison before being released on prisoner spitting.
She later moved to the United States in 1990 and became a US citizen, but her US citizenship was revoked in 2014 when she was convicted of immigration fraud for hiding her previous conviction.
“So, even if you come here and you are naturalized as a citizen, you are lying to your application. That's the basis for stripping your citizenship and deporting you,” Jacobson said.
Mahmoud Khalil is said to have played a major role in Columbia University's protests against Israel. (Ted Shaffrey/File)
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He also said the immigration law was passed by Congress and is carried out by the president, a system unique to immigration to the United States. Ultimately, Jacobson said such laws are in place for good reason.
“If we recognize someone to our country, they can come here and defend the destruction of our country, robbing others of our constitutional rights, engaging in the act of engaging in an organisation dedicated to armed struggles and destructing Western civilizations, and [that] There's nothing we can do about it. I think that's just against the statutory scheme,” Jacobson said.
