Marsha Blackburn Defends Arrest, Attempted Deportation Of Activist And Legal Resident Mahmoud Khalil

2 days ago

During remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) spoke about the arrest and attempted deportation of pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who is a legal permanent resident and has not been charged with any crime.

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Transcript

00:00Thank you, Mr. President. Since Hamas's barbaric attack on Israel on October 7th last year,

00:09many of our nation's top universities have abandoned their Jewish students. Instead of

00:15providing a place to learn, they have become hotbeds of anti-Semitism, anti-American hatred,

00:23and open support for terrorism. Here are some examples. At Princeton, students have waved

00:31the flag of terror groups like Hezbollah. UCLA activists set up barricades across campus

00:40and blocked Jewish students from attending class. George Washington University, a pro-Hamas

00:48demonstrator, walked around campus with a sign calling for a final solution against

00:56the Jewish people. Columbia University students chanted, We are Hamas and Long Live Hamas.

01:08In recent weeks, pro-Hamas activists at Barnard College occupied an academic building, allegedly

01:16assaulted a school employee, and handed out flyers produced by the Hamas media office.

01:24These flyers glorified Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. That is Hamas's term for its kidnapping, rape,

01:35and murder of more than 1,200 Israelis. These are not isolated cases, and Mr. President,

01:44to many Americans and certainly many Tennesseans, it seems impossible that this would be happening

01:54right here. But according to Hillel International, there were more than 1,800 anti-Semitic incidences

02:04on college campuses during the 23-24 school year. Think about that. 1,800 anti-Semitic

02:16incidences. Now, the thing that is so upsetting about this is that that is an increase of

02:25more than 500% from the year before. This shows you the organization and the intensity

02:37of these events. What we do know is that Jewish students have faced harassment and intimidation

02:45on their university campuses. And we also know that the Biden administration sat on

02:52their hands and they chose to do nothing about this. Instead, they sided with the radical

03:01activists who turned our campuses into cesspools of hatred. Now, with President Trump back

03:08in the Oval Office, pro-Hamas students and the colleges that enable them are being put

03:16on notice. Recently, Secretary of State Rubio vowed to revoke visas and green cards for

03:24any foreign students who support terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. This is something

03:31that I have called for and supported, which is why I am so pleased to see this administration,

03:39the Trump administration, actually taking action. Now, what we do know is that ICE arrested

03:49a former Columbia University student who is from Syria. That is Mahmoud Khalil. And this

03:59was a ringleader for Columbia's anti-Israel encampment. As I said, a former student. At

04:08these demonstrations, pro-Hamas activists spat on Jewish students. They chanted F the Jews and

04:18they held signs next to Jewish students claiming that they would be Hamas's next target. Think

04:27about this. If you're a 19-year-old Jewish college student and you are there on Columbia's

04:38campus and you have a protester holding a sign against your head saying you should be the next

04:50targets. In many ways, Khalil was the perfect leader for this anti-Semitic pro-terror movement.

05:00What we know is this. Before he enrolled at Columbia University, he allegedly served as a

05:08political affairs officer for UNRWA. That is right. The UN Relief and Works Agency there in Gaza. This

05:22person was a political affairs officer for UNRWA. Now, this is the same UNRWA that we now know

05:36indoctrinated Palestinian children to hate the Jews, stored Hamas's weapons in its facilities

05:44in Gaza. They actually put ammunition and weapons in the schools, the UN schools there in Gaza. We

05:57know that they had people affiliated with Hamas on their payroll and we know they provided support

06:06and aid to the terrorists. There is no reason why someone like this should be allowed in our

06:15country to support terrorism and to promote anti-Jewish bigotry. That's why Secretary Rubio

06:23is intending to deport Khalil, which this administration has the full authority to do

06:31under our federal immigration laws. And under this administration, I have no doubt we are going

06:40to see many more deportations. As we work to deport Hamas affiliates, my bipartisan No Immigration

06:49Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act would block any migrant tied to Hamas from entering our country.

06:58And my No Flight for Terrorists Act would put anyone on the no-fly list if they have called

07:06for violence against the Jewish people or pledged allegiance to a foreign terrorist organization. At

07:16the same time, President Trump is vowing to pull federal funding from schools that fail to protect

07:23Jewish students from discrimination. Just on Friday, his administration canceled $400 million

07:33in grants and contracts with Columbia University. That is a good start to accountability. Right

07:45after October 7th, I joined Senator Tim Scott in introducing the Stop Anti-Semitism on College

07:52Campuses Act. This legislation would rescind federal funding for any university, any university

08:02in this country that authorizes funds or facilitates events that promote violent anti-Semitism. With

08:12such widespread failure from our nation's colleges and universities to protect Jewish students,

08:19there are billions of dollars on the line. One thing should be done.

Marsha Blackburn Defends Arrest, Attempted Deportation Of Activist And Legal Resident Mahmoud Khalil

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