Former Clinton administration Justice Department official Harry Litman said Friday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s decision to revoke the green card of pro-Hamas protesters would likely be upheld by the courts.
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took Mahmoud Khalil, who reportedly led pro-Hamas protests at Columbia University, into custody after Rubio revoked his green card. Litman said that the revocation of Khalil’s green card, as well as the visas of other pro-Hamas protesters in the U.S., was something courts would probably not “second-guess.”
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“Khalil has a green card, so did the student, excuse me, picked up this morning. There’s a regulation, Jose, passed in the height of the Cold War that says if the secretary of state makes a finding that someone is — there are two different things going on here, aiding terrorists, that’s what they say the latest student picked up did, or somehow a risk to national security, they can have their visa revoked,” Litman told MSNBC host Jose Diaz-Balart. “And there’s a lot of law that says they’re not going to second guess or they may not second guess Rubio’s judgment about that fact, are they a risk to national security?”
“So in the latest case, there’s going to be a frontal attack on the actual regulation because it is very clear that what’s happened here is based only on First Amendment activity. Khalil was one of the organizers of the demonstration and the person picked up this morning wrote an op-ed,” Litman continued. “And then based on that, Rubio made this judgment. It’s really that judgment and the way it dovetails with First Amendment activity that gives pause here. But that may be the aspect of the regulatory scheme that is hardest to challenge.”
Pro-Hamas demonstrations at multiple universities and colleges have taken shape since the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that killed over 1,200 people in Israel. Protesters have occupied buildings, blocked Jewish students from parts of campus and have chanted a slogan that implies a desire to wipe out Israel. Rubio called for the visas of foreign students who supported Hamas’ actions to be revoked during an Oct. 17, 2023, appearance on “The Ingraham Angle” while he was still a Florida senator.
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“The law says if you are a supporter of a terrorist organization you shouldn’t even have a visa,” Rubio told Fox News host Laura Ingraham during the appearance. “So now, once you get that visa, if you identify yourself as a Hamas supporter, then you should have your visa canceled and you should be removed from the country.”
Rubio, since becoming secretary of state, has revoked more than 300 student visas, though Litman focused on two students, Khalil, and Rumeysa Ozturk, who was detained for “activities in support of Hamas.” The Associated Press reported that these cases are currently being contested in federal court.
Litman, who resigned as an opinion writer for Los Angeles Times after claiming the outlet was “appeasing” Trump, said the courts would not “second guess” Rubio’s decision to revoke the visas.
“There is precedent for using the law without questioning the secretary of state. Secretary of State signs a piece of paper. I think this person is a risk to national security,” Litman said. “Now, remember, we’re talking about immigration status. And as Rubio was saying, you know, it’s very different to revoke a visa, especially a student visa, even a green card than it is to charge someone with a crime.”
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“But the precedent is there for secretary of state to determine that someone is a danger if they — if they continue to have their immigration status permitting them to be here. I think the real thing that is animating these protesters is they think from what we know, ain’t a lot to suggest that these two people are serious risk to national security,” Litman continued. “But what the reg says is that’s a call for Rubio to make, not the courts. The courts can do other things like, are you the person named? Is the regulation constitutional? But this core judgment by Rubio is going to be very hard to overturn.”
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
