Chicago – March 18, 2025
The recent detention of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil by Homeland Security agents, under a January executive order by President Trump targeting foreign students involved in protests, raises serious concerns. Khalil, a Syrian national, was active in last year’s pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia, where he engaged with media and mediated between students and university officials.
A DHS document cites the Immigration and National Security Act, stating Khalil’s presence could pose “serious adverse foreign policy consequences” to the U.S and has been deported. His case highlights growing fears that legally residing individuals may face arbitrary detention or deportation. It also raises broader concerns about the vulnerability of non-citizen residents—particularly those from Muslim and Arab backgrounds—under current policies. Khalil’s situation prompts a deeper question: could citizenship rights for naturalized Americans eventually come under similar scrutiny?
While, President Trump personally abuses free speech constantly, like when Trump launched a long speech against his perceived political enemies in a speech at the Department of Justice, normally regarded as hallowed apolitical turf. In an hour-long rambling speech, Trump accused mainstream media outlets such as CNN, the main news networks, and even the right-leaning Wall Street Journal of illegal and corrupt behaviour, described his courtroom opponents as “scum”, judges “corrupt” and the prosecutors investigating him as “deranged, and called for those who opposed him to be sent to prison.
In a bitter blow for champions of free speech internationally, on Sunday, Trump also signed an executive order effectively closing down the Voice of America, a radio service launched in 1942 to counter Nazi and Japanese propaganda.
These policies have made journalists and media outlets more careful about their criticism of the Trump administration. Journalists are scrubbing down their social media accounts and are avoiding anything negative about the administration.
