Commentary by Sharon Lintner

If Mahmoud Khalil is deported, it will signal the end of free speech in the United States. The mere fact that he has been detained jeopardizes our First Amendment rights. [Khalil is the graduate student from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, facing deportation over leading pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University over the war in Gaza.]

No more independent thinking, no opposing views without fear of severe, life changing retaliation.  

There's plenty more I'd like to say, but as I write this I'm wondering how long it will be until we cannot write about or verbally express a dissenting position?  That thought alone proves we are no longer free and cannot count on the protection of the First Amendment. 

The day that we pause and question whether it's safe to express our opinion is here: Today is that day. 

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