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U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly (VA-11), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, joined Reps. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Ranking Member of the Constitution and Limited Government Subcommittee, and 102 Members of Congress in demanding answers from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Department of State Secretary Marco Rubio regarding the detention of Mahmoud Khalil and stripping of his Green Card.

Khalil, a lawful permanent resident of the United States, was arrested and detained, and the administration has attempted to revoke his Green Card under an obscure statute in the Immigration and Nationality Act.

“The Administration does not allege that Mr. Khalil has committed any crime nor that he has ever been charged with a crime,” wrote the Members. “And the Administration has failed to provide any explanation of what deleterious foreign policy consequences Mr. Khalil has caused by exercising his free speech rights. […] This maneuver evokes the Alien and Sedition Acts and McCarthyism. It is the playbook of authoritarians, not of elected officials in a democratic society who claim to be champions of free speech.”

This arrest comes as Trump has said Khalil’s attempted removal would be “first of many,” with dozens of universities and colleges across the country having received threats from the Department of Education if they protect non-citizen students who have engaged in protest.

“While there may be disagreement with Mr. Khalil’s speech, it is his Constitutional right in our democracy to express his political views. That is why every American should be outraged by this brazen attempt to use the power of the United States government to silence and punish people who do not agree with the sitting President,” continued the Members.

Judge Jesse Furman issued an order temporarily preventing the government from removing Mr. Khalil while he considers the legality of the arrest and detention.

The Members are requesting a response from Noem and Rubio by March 27th, 2025.

The letter was signed by Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Becca Balint (VT-At Large), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Ami Bera (CA-06), Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (VA-08), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), André Carson (IN-07), Troy Carter (LA-02), Greg Casar (TX-35), Sean Casten (IL-06), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Judy Chu (CA-28), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Herbert Conaway (NJ-03), Gerald Connolly (VA-11), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Danny K. Davis (IL) (IL-07), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Diana DeGette (CO-01), Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Valerie Foushee (NC-04), Laura Friedman (CA-30), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), John Garamendi (CA-08), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Sylvia R. Garcia (TX) (TX-29), Al Green (TX-09), Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Jim Himes (CT-04), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), Val Hoyle (OR-04), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Julie Johnson (TX-32), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), William Keating (MA-09), Ro Khanna (CA-17), John Larson (CT-01), Summer Lee (PA-12), Summer Lee (PA-12), Sam Liccardo (CA-16), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Sarah McBride (DE-At Large), Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Morgan McGarvey (KY-03), James P. McGovern (MA-02), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Dave Min (CA-47), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Kelly Morrison (MN-03), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Nancy Pelosi (CA-11), Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Stacey Plaskett (VI), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Nellie Pou (NJ-09), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Emily Randall (WA-06), Deborah Ross (NC-02), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Adam Smith (WA-09), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), Mark Takano (CA-39), Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), Mike Thompson (CA-04), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Lori Trahan (MA-03), Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07), Maxine Waters (CA-43), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), and Nikema Williams (GA-05).

The letter was endorsed by 18 Million Rising; A New Policy; Action Corps; Adalah Justice Project; Alliance of Baptists; America’s Voice; American Civil Liberties Union; American Friends of Combatants for Peace; American Friends Service Committee; American Humanist Association; American Immigration Council; American Immigration Lawyers Association; American Muslims for Palestine (AMP); Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action); Amnesty International USA; Arab American Institute (AAI); Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund; Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC; Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote); Bend the Arc: Jewish Action; CASA; Center for Constitutional Rights; Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law; Center for Jewish Nonviolence; Center for Victims of Torture; Christians for a Free Palestine; Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA); CODEPINK; Communities United for Status & Protection (CUSP); Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim; Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR); DAWN; Defending Rights & Dissent; Detention Watch Network; Emgage Action; Franciscan Action Network ; Freedom Forward; Friends Committee on National Legislation; Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA); Hindus for Human Rights; Human Rights First; IfNotNow Movement; IMEU Policy Project; Immigrant Defense Project; Immigrant Justice Network ; Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC); Immigration Equality; Indivisible; International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN); International Refugee Assistance Project; J Street; Jewish Voice for Peace Action; Justice Democrats; MADRE; MoveOn; MPower Change Action Fund; Muslim Advocates; Muslim Legal Fund of America; Muslims for Just Futures; National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum; National Immigrant Justice Center; National Immigration Law Center; National Immigration Project; National Iranian American Council; NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice; New Israel Fund; New Jewish Narrative; Nonviolent Peaceforce; P Street; Partners for Progressive Israel; Pax Christi Young Adult Caucus; Peace Action; Prayers for Peace Alliance; Presente.org; Project South; Rabbis for Ceasefire; ReThinking Foreign Policy; Right to the City Alliance; Rising Majority; RootsAction.org; Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – Justice Team; Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC); Sunrise Movement; T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights; The Nexus Project; The Southern Poverty Law Center; Unitarian Universalist Association; United Church of Christ; United Methodists for Kairos Response (UMKR); United We Dream Network; US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action; USAHello; Win Without War; Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation ; Arlington For Palestine; Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta; Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago; Borderlands for Equity; CAIR- Philadelphia; CAIR-WA; Dignidad/The Right to Immigration Institute; Elmahaba Center; Estrella del Paso; Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef); Jews For Racial & Economic Justice; Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition; Mennonite Action Philadelphia; Miami Valley Immigration Coalition; New York Immigration Coalition; North Carolina Muslim Bar Association; OneAmerica; Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans – PANA; Pax Christi New Jersey ; Peace Action Montgomery; Prayers for Peace Alliance; Saratoga Black Lives Matter; Showing Up For Racial Justice Bay Area; SURJ Northern Virginia; West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship; Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center; Woori Juntos.

The full letter can be read here.