We Stand with Mahmoud Khalil and Condemn the Criminalization of Constitutionally-Protected Activism.

Writers for Democratic Action condemns the illegal arrest and attempted deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student activist and legal U.S. resident. The disappearance of Khalil from his Columbia University housing, in front of his pregnant wife, at the hands of unnamed plainclothes agents, is a chilling escalation of state repression—one that evokes the darkest chapters of history, where unaccountable forces abduct dissenters under the cover of “un-American activity.” The constitutional right to protest is at the core of what it means to live in America.

This is not just an attack on Khalil; it is a warning to all who dare to speak out against injustice. It is an act of intimidation meant to silence those who stand for Palestinian rights, for justice, for freedom. We refuse to be intimidated. We refuse to be silent.

These are dangerous times, in which Gestapo-style tactics are being normalized in the United States. If we do not resist, if we do not demand accountability now, then we accept a future in which no one is safe from the State’s unchecked power. We demand Mahmoud Khalil’s immediate release. We demand transparency, due process, and the protection of all those targeted for their political beliefs. And we demand an end to the criminalization of constitutionally-protected activism.