Andrew Day on why conservatives should oppose the deportation of Khalil Mahmoud

The arrest and possible deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist, has galvanized the left and drawn criticism from liberals and civil libertarians. Even some neoconservatives have condemned the White House’s aggressive action earlier this month. MAGA conservatives should also oppose it. 

At least one prominent MAGA-friendly voice, the author Ann Coulter, has already spoken out against deporting Khalil, who was born in Syria.  “There’s almost no one I don’t want to deport, but, unless they’ve committed a crime, isn’t this a violation of the first amendment?” Coulter wrote last week on X.

Khalil, a green card holder whose wife is a U.S. citizen (and eight months pregnant), does indeed enjoy rights under the First Amendment.  The Supreme Court ruled in 1945 that alien residents cannot be deported for political speech, including speech in support of groups seeking to overthrow the U.S. government.  Notably, the Court rejected the government’s argument that the targeted alien held an “affiliation” with a subversive organization, judging that the claim relied on too loose a definition of that term.  The case, Bridges v. Wixon, is highly relevant to the controversy surrounding Khalil.

The Trump administration, in rescinding Khalil’s green card, invoked a 1952 immigration law to justify the move.  That statute, the Immigration and Nationality Act, empowers the government to deport any lawful permanent resident whom the secretary of state deems a danger to U.S. foreign policy interests.  The White House has said that Khalil, through his protest activities at Columbia University, promoted antisemitism.  Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security said that Khalil “led activities aligned to Hamas,” a designated terror organization. 

These justifications are spurious.  The First Amendment does not carve out an exception for speech that Marco Rubio labels “antisemitic,” and in any case Jewish students at Columbia have vouched for Khalil’s character.  As for the vague assertion that Khalil is “aligned” with Hamas, the administration has not produced evidence that he was affiliated with the group in any meaningful sense.  If the arrest of Khalil is legal under the Immigration and Nationality Act, then the relevant provisions of that law are null and void under the Constitution, the supreme law of the land.

~ Andrew Day, "Mahmoud Khalil, Viewed From the Right: MAGA should oppose the arrest and deportation of the pro-Palestinian activist," The American Conservative, March 19, 2025

John Tamny on conservative support for bill to force sale of TikTok

Contra crybaby conservatives, an app could never destroy the greatest country on earth.  On the other hand, the taking of freedom required to ban an app could destroy a country whose greatness is rooted in freedom.

~ John Tamny, tweet, March 14, 2024

Noam Chomsky on Christian evangelical support of Israel

Let's start with what's called conservative support [of] Israel.  At first I think some kind of semantic hygiene is useful.  There's really no conservative in the United States.  The people who are called conservatives are radical statists for the most part.  And there are few genuine conservatives - which means something like classical liberals - but not many.

If you take a look at the Republican Party today, which is the strongest extreme support for Israeli policies, they have a popular base.  A large part of the popular base is Christian evangelicals.  They are passionate supporters of Israeli policies and they're also extreme anti-Semites.  They don't say it, but take a look at the doctrines like the dispensationalist doctrines.  They're looking forward to a battle and Armageddon where everybody gets murdered and the saved souls rise to heaven.  What happens to the Jews?  Well, according to some of these versions, 160,000 of them find Christ in time and they're saved.  The rest are condemned to eternal damnation.  How can you be any more antisemitic than that?

Their support for Israel is because partly interpretation of the Bible, interpretation of the Book of Revelation and son on and so forth, which leads them to strongly support Israeli crimes.  Israel welcomes the support, but it also tries to control them.  Like when they try to blow up the Temple Mount, Israel doesn't think that's a good idea so they block them.

~ Noam Chomsky, "Noam Chomsky: Why America Holds Israel as a Sacred Cow?," Free Will, 0:40 mark, October 26, 2023