Comcast Offers a Scary Look at a World Without Net Neutrality

NEWARK, N.J. – Mahmoud Khalil’s legal team wrote the court today asking for his immediate release on bail, or, at a minimum, to order his return to New Jersey. The request comes after the government informed the court Friday that it would continue to detain Mr. Khalil in a remote facility in Jena, Louisiana, based on false and pretextual allegations connected with his green card application because a preliminary injunction that entered into effect Friday blocks his detention on purported foreign policy grounds. The federal judge overseeing his case, Michael E. Farbiarz, wrote Friday that, even though the government virtually never detains anyone on such “misrepresentation” charges, the court would not, at this point, prohibit the government from relying upon such pretextual and retaliatory allegations to continue Mr. Khalil’s detention. “The government is making desperate, last ditch attempts to keep my husband unjustly imprisoned,” said Dr. Noor Abdalla, Mahmoud Khalil’s wife. “We are not afraid and will not be intimidated, because we know, and the government knows, it is only a matter of time before Mahmoud is free. The American people are with us, and can see right through the government’s unjust attempts to delay his release. No matter what the government pulls, we will bring Mahmoud home safe.” “Because its outrageous attempt to detain Mahmoud based only on Secretary Rubio’s say-so has been struck down as unconstitutional, the government now stoops to a new low by doing what the federal court said the government virtually never does—detaining a U.S. permanent resident based on an alleged omission in an immigration application,” said Ramzi Kassem, co-director of CLEAR, at CUNY School of Law. “This only further proves Mahmoud’s claim that the government is retaliating against him for exercising his right to speak in defense of Palestinian rights and we won’t stop until he is free.” “Like it has for the past three months, the government is using all of the tools available to it to hinder justice for Mahmoud,” said Brett Max Kaufman, senior counsel in the ACLU’s Center for Democracy. “The government practically never holds people in detention on a charge like this, and it’s clear that the government is doing anything they can to punish Mahmoud for his speech about Palestine. We will not stop until he’s home with his family.” Today’s filing notes that Mr. Khalil is neither a flight risk nor a danger to anyone. It further explains that the court previously recognized that continued detention, based solely on the sorts of misrepresentations alleged by the government, is exceedingly rare and clearly only in further retaliation for his speech on Palestine. “This is just another cruel attempt by the government to punish Mahmoud for his protected speech,” said Marc Van Der Hout, founding partner at Van Der Hout LLP. “Detaining someone on a charge like this is highly unusual and, frankly, outrageous. The district court soundly and clearly rejected DHS’s attempt to deport Mahmoud for speaking out about the genocide in Gaza, and there continues to be no constitutional basis for his detention.” The government’s immigration case on the foreign policy grounds rested entirely on Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s foreign policy “determination,” which the federal court has now enjoined. The government later added the unfounded allegations that Mr. Khalil had not disclosed his previous employment and associations accurately on his green card application. Mr. Khalil’s legal team refuted those allegations with overwhelming evidence which the government did not even attempt to respond to. “This is a classic move from the government’s playbook: make false claims and delay, delay, delay,” said Amy Belsher, director of Immigrants’ Rights Litigation at the NYCLU. “There’s zero legitimate reason for Mahmoud Khalil to remain detained — it's clear that the government's outstanding charge is baseless and retaliatory. No more lies or dragging feet. Mahmoud must be released immediately to go home to his family and newborn son.” “The government’s decision to continue to detain Mahmoud on these patently false and pretextual charges is only more evidence of their cowardly vindictiveness toward him and their unrelenting desire to punish him for speaking out against them and their complicity in genocide,” said Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. Mr. Khalil is represented by Dratel & Lewis, the Center for Constitutional Rights, CLEAR, Van Der Hout LLP, Washington Square Legal Services, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), the ACLU of New Jersey, the ACLU of Louisiana, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

WASHINGTON — On June 14, more than five million people nationwide rallied at over 2,100 events across the country, condemning President Trump’s escalating abuses of power. The wave of protests, co-sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union, Indivisible, and a coalition of labor, environmental, and human rights organizations, was the largest mass mobilization since President Trump’s return to office. People gathered everywhere – from Maine to Florida, Pennsylvania to Texas – to demonstrate that they are not intimidated by the un-American tendencies of this administration. “Today’s protests are a resounding message that people across the nation will not be intimidated by President Trump’s fear tactics. Americans are brave, democracy loving people and will not sit idly by as the Trump administration feeds our Constitution into the shredder — nor will the ACLU,” said ACLU Chief Political & Advocacy Officer Deirdre Schifeling. “In just five months, we have sued the administration dozens of times for their abuses of power, and we will continue to defend our rights. Protecting our democracy isn’t a partisan issue — it’s core to being American. We will use every tool we can, from litigation to legislation to powerful protests in the streets, to stop the unconstitutional actions of this administration and protect our rights.” The day of action caps off a week of unprecedented encroachments on our civil rights. President Trump federalized National Guard troops against the wishes of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and deployed active-duty military to an American city to quell protests. ICE raids and detainments continue to terrorize immigrant communities across the country and ramped up in major cities like Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. Administration officials also forcibly ejected and handcuffed Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), the country’s most senior Latino leader, as he sought answers about the administration’s actions. These events underscore the urgency of organized people power to show solidarity with our communities and resist the Trump administration’s assault on civil liberties. Despite intimidation and violence, the people showed up. As ACLU National Campaign Director for Immigration Anu Joshi told the crowd of over 100,000 at the No Kings flagship march in Philadelphia, “Looking around at the thousands of people here with you — and the millions of people joining events like this across the country — it is clear to me that we cannot be silenced, and we are not afraid. When we know our rights and exercise them, when we protest, when we dissent, when we speak freely, when we act to protect our families, our friends and our neighbors, when we show up, we make progress for all of us.”

The Trump administration has detained Khalil since March for his activism. Ahead of his first Father’s Day, he writes about the grief he has felt being separated from his wife and son.

NEW YORK — In the three months since he was illegally detained by ICE for speaking out in support of Palestinian rights, Mahmoud Khalil has been forced to miss the birth of his son, his wife’s first Mother’s Day, and now his own first Father’s Day. To mark this moment, Mo Amer, Mark Ruffalo, Arian Moayed, Dallas Goldtooth, W. Kamau Bell, Mahershala Ali, Tom Morello and Alex Winter came together to read the letter Mahmoud wrote to his newborn son, Deen. The video begins with Mahmoud’s voice speaking over the phone to Deen from ICE detention in Louisiana: “Yaba Deen, these are my first words to you,” Mahmoud says. It comes just one day after a federal judge granted Mr. Khalil’s request for preliminary injunction, finding that he would continue to suffer irreparable harm if he remains detained. Further, the court ruled that it was unconstitutional to detain and seek to deport someone purely on the basis of their advocacy. Despite this ruling, he remains detained in Louisiana. As fathers themselves, these artists are using their platforms to speak out. Palestinian American comedian and actor Mo Amer explains, “I am a Palestinian refugee, asylee to America, became a citizen in 2009, and in 2023 I had a son. Mahmoud’s letter is like a dagger to the heart, and that’s why I am doing this.” They also understand that if it can happen to Mahmoud, a permanent lawful resident and U.S. green card holder, it can happen to anyone. As Iranian American actor and screenwriter Arian Moayed noted, “I can't imagine being taken away from my child for speaking up for labor rights. I can't imagine being taken away from my child for speaking up for Iranian rights. I can't imagine being taken away from my child for speaking up for veterans rights. All of which I have done in the past. And now I'm saying the same thing. No human being deserves to be taken away from their child because of what they believe in. That's not what this country is made for.” The celebrity fathers filmed this video because they see how Mahmoud’s struggle is intertwined with theirs. “I know that on this stolen land, nobody is free unless we are all free. And so this is an act of solidarity and love for any and all who dream for a better and healthier future for all of us, in all life on this planet,” said Native American activist and actor from Reservation Dogs’ Dallas Goldtooth. Furthermore, they know that every day that Mahmoud remains detained is a day too long. Emmy-winning TV host, comedian and activist W. Kamau Bell said it plainly: “I get to go home to my kids. All dads should get that.” Just last week, dozens of experts outlined the “irreparable harm” he and his loved ones will continue to suffer as long as he remains detained thousands of miles away from him. “True justice would mean Mahmoud was never taken away from us in the first place, that no Palestinian father, from New York to Gaza, would have to endure the painful separation of prison walls like Mahmoud has. I will not rest until Mahmoud is free, and hope that he can be with us to experience his first Father’s Day at home in New York with Deen in his arms,” said Noor Abdalla, Mahmoud’s wife. Mr. Khalil is represented by Dratel & Lewis, the Center for Constitutional Rights, CLEAR, Van Der Hout LLP, Washington Square Legal Services, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), the ACLU of New Jersey, the ACLU of Louisiana, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).