Columbia Standard

In a joint effort, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin and Senator Bernie Sanders made a formal request to President Donald Trump, urging the release of individuals detained for political activities considered protected by the First Amendment. The appeal follows the arrest of Rumeysa Ozturk and Mahmoud Khalil, among others, after their lawful activities were allegedly targeted by federal authorities.

Durbin and Sanders addressed the situation by writing to the President: "We understand Ms. Ozturk’s case to be a part of a pattern of retaliatory action to punish lawful immigrant and foreign students for publicly expressing opinions that your Administration opposes. This effort threatens the fundamental right to engage in free speech and expression under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution."

Reports indicate that actions began in March with the State Department's "Catch and Revoke" initiative. This program allegedly involved using artificial intelligence to scrutinize social media of lawful immigrant and foreign students, leading to the revocation of their green cards or visas and subsequent detentions. In defense of the arrest of Mr. Khalil, Secretary of State Marco Rubio exercised a "rarely used authority" for deporting noncitizens based on beliefs if there is deemed a "compelling foreign policy interest."

In their letter, Durbin and Sanders stated: “Congress intended for this authority to ‘be used sparingly and not merely because there is a likelihood that [a noncitizen] will make critical remarks about the United States or its policies.’ Yet, federal agents have arrested noncitizens (including lawful permanent residents) around the country in retaliation for political affiliations or activity.”

They stressed that “ideas are not illegal, and there is no controversial speech exception to the First Amendment. No president should be allowed to exclude or remove people from our country simply because they disagree with their political speech.”

Concluding their letter, they emphasized, “No one is above the law, and even you must uphold and respect the fundamental American values of free speech and political dissent.”

Rumeysa Ozturk's arrest also raised concerns about due process. She was reportedly taken by plainclothes agents without clear identification and transferred to a facility in Louisiana before legal orders could intervene. Meanwhile, Mr. Khalil was not provided any formal explanation for his arrest until afterwards.

The Senators’ stance against this enforcement underscores their call for immediate termination of proceedings against individuals detained for exercise of protected political activities.