Noah Feldman, Columnist

Columbia Student’s Deportation Arrest Should Scare All Americans

Even if pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil isn't deported, his case will already have chilled free speech for everyone in the US.

March 11, 2025 at 7:47 PM UTC

By Noah Feldman

Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A professor of law at Harvard University, he is author, most recently, of “To Be a Jew Today: A New Guide to God, Israel, and the Jewish People."

Protected speech.
Photographer: David Dee Delgado/Getty Images North America

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The Trump administration came into office claiming to stand for free speech. Yet the arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful permanent resident who led pro-Palestinian student protests at Columbia University, has dealt a serious blow to the First Amendment.

Going back to 1941, the Supreme Court has held that resident noncitizens have free-speech rights. Deporting Khalil for his political speech would violate this basic freedom — and set back First Amendment rights for all Americans.