Student Activist's U. S. Departure: A Stand for Free Speech

A graduate student from Cornell University has decided to leave the United States. This student is Momodou Taal. He is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Gambia. He is leaving the country after his visa was revoked. This happened after he took legal action against the Trump administration. The lawsuit was over actions taken against pro-Palestinian student protesters. Taal announced his decision to leave the U. S. on X. He stated that he was leaving "free and with his head held high. "He expressed concerns about his safety and ability to express his beliefs in the U. S. He feared that a favorable court ruling would not guarantee his personal safety or his ability to express his beliefs freely. He also feared that he could be abducted while walking the streets. Taal, who is 31 years old, sued the Trump administration last month. He sued along with two U. S. citizens. One was a Cornell professor and the other was a Ph. D. student. The lawsuit challenged executive orders aimed at "combating anti-Semitism" on college campuses. It also challenged the expulsion of foreign nationals deemed national security threats. The lawsuit argued that the administration's orders unconstitutionally silenced plaintiffs. It also claimed that the orders chilled protected expression. This made it difficult for them to speak, hear, or engage with viewpoints critical of the U. S. government or the government of Israel. They faced the threat of criminal prosecution or deportation. The administration has revoked at least 300 student visas of foreign-born individuals. Most of these individuals were part of the pro-Palestinian movement that swept campuses last year. This included Turkish national Rumeysa Ozturk. A green card-holder, Mahmoud Khalil, was also detained and has been held in Louisiana since his March 8 arrest. Taal hoped that suing the Trump administration would protect him and others in similar situations. However, shortly after the lawsuit was filed, the Justice Department asked Taal to surrender to immigration authorities. Taal and his lawyer, Eric Lee, said that the administration sent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to his home. They revoked his student visa and took actions to prevent the lawsuit from going to court. Unidentified authorities arrived outside Taal’s student apartment building and asked others about him before staff members asked them to leave. ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Taal said that the first motion of the lawsuit was denied. He was going to submit a second briefing to keep him out of detention while the lawsuit was in progress. The lawsuit was dismissed Monday night on behalf of all three plaintiffs following Taal's announcement. Lee told NBC News about this. Taal ended his post with a warning. He stated that the administration's crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists sets a dangerous precedent. He wrote, "The repression of Palestinian solidarity is now being used to wage a wholesale attack on any form of expression that challenges oppressive and exploitative relations in the U. S. "