The article discusses recent actions by the U.S. government targeting activists and students involved in Palestine solidarity efforts, highlighting cases of individuals like Mahmoud Khalil, Badar Khan Suri, and others facing detention or deportation. These actions have raised civil rights alarms, particularly with the establishment of the 'Joint Task Force October 7,' aimed at investigating perceived threats connected to Hamas. The article emphasizes that no one, regardless of citizenship status, is safe from these aggressive policies, particularly in an environment influenced by political smear campaigns.
Of course, they came for a Palestinian first. I'm sure he didn't want to be, not like this, but he's famous now: Mahmoud Khalil, the activist disappeared from his Columbia University-owned apartment by Department of Homeland Security agents on orders from the White House.
Next came the Georgetown postdoc Badar Khan Suri, detained by black-masked agents on his way home from class. Suri, who is Indian, is married to a Palestinian-American and was accused by a DHS spokesperson of 'spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism.'
On March 17, the Justice Department announced the creation of 'Joint Task Force October 7,' which will be free to pursue citizens and noncitizens alike. Staffed by FBI agents and data analysts, it will investigate, among other things, 'acts of terrorism and civil rights violations by individuals and entities providing support and financing to Hamas, related Iran proxies, and their affiliates, as well as acts of antisemitism.
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