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Topics: Donald Trump, US News, News
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, News
Green card holders in the US are at risk of deportation, says Tom Homan.
As of last year, there was reported to be around 13 million green card holders in America, 10 million of whom were eligible to become US Citizens, said The Economic Times.
Typically, a person who holds a green card in the States isn't illegible for deportation. However, this can change if the individual commits certain crimes; for example failing to notify immigration officials of a change in address or engaging in marriage fraud.
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However, Mahmoud Khalil, a green card-holder married to a US citizen, was arrested over the weekend by federal immigration agents.
No charges have been announced yet, New York Magazine reports, but The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has accused the former student of 'leading activities aligned to Hamas'.
Since returning to office, Donald Trump has pledged to crack down on pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses and said that Khalil's arrest is 'the first of many to come'.
Now, Trump's border czar Tom Homan has echoed similar sentiments.
Addressing Khalil's detainment, he told Fox Business: "Did he violate the terms of his visa? Did he violate the terms of his residency here, you know, committing crimes, attacking Israeli students, locking down buildings, destroying property? Absolutely."
Homan failed to address the fact that Khalil is yet to be convicted of any crime, thus contradicting his comments about the Syrian-born man's visa violation.
"Any resident alien who commits a crime is eligible for deportation," Homan added. "And that's just one out of many."
Just two days after Khalil's arrest, a judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration's efforts to have him deported 'unless and until the Court orders otherwise'.
His arrest has sparked backlash and protests.
Speaking on the matter, Columbia University Professor Michael Thaddeus said in a statement: "We're facing a horrifying reality that our own student, a member of the Columbia community, has become a political prisoner here in the United States."
Elsewhere, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national Muslim civil rights advocacy group, has branded Khalil's arrest as 'lawless'.
It said, as per ABC 7: "The Department of Homeland Security's lawless decision to arrest [Khalil] solely because of his peaceful anti-genocide activism represents a blatant attack on the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, immigration laws, and the very humanity of Palestinians."
A hearing for Khalil has been set for tomorrow (March 12), BBC News reports.