Indian students and NRIs living in the United States are in the grip of fear following a wave of deportations targeting international students who have voiced their support for Palestine.
Hyderabad: Indian students and NRIs living in the United States are in the grip of fear following a wave of deportations targeting international students who have voiced their support for Palestine.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had recently cracked down on students from Columbia University and other institutions for supporting the Palestinian cause. One of them, detained two days ago, is an Indian, Badar Khan Suri of the Georgetown University.
This has raised concerns among NRIs, who feel that political opinions could jeopardise their stay in the country.
In recent weeks, international students and researchers who expressed support to Palestine were either detained, or forced to leave the country. Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian-American and former Columbia University graduate student, was arrested by ICE officers. Even though Khalil holds a green card, he was taken into custody due to his participation in campus protests. He is likely to be deported.
An Indian student’s visa was also revoked by ICE because of her support for Palestine. Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian doctoral student at Columbia University, had taken part in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Ranjani, after realising that she could be detained by ICE, chose to leave the US and flew to Canada.
Badar Khan Suri, detained for alleged links with Hamas, has secured a temporary stay on his deportation, and the case is currently being reviewed in court.
These incidents have sent shockwaves through the Indian community in the US, especially among students.
A Hyderabadi pursuing MS in Indiana said “I always saw the US as a country that respects freedom of expression. Now, I’m scared to share my opinions even with my friends. The government is being very strict when it comes to international students and immigrants.”
A Warangal-based green card holder, who sought anonymity, said “ICE has violently reprimanded international students who were supporting Palestine. If my beliefs do not align with the government’s ideologies, I might also be deported.”
Meanwhile, legal experts in the USA argue that these deportations will not withstand constitutional scrutiny. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) has already filed a lawsuit, challenging actions of the government and ICE, which, they say, violate the US Constitution’s first amendment.
Although universities such as Columbia and Georgetown pledged support for affected students and staff, they are caught in a rift between government policies and their commitment to academic freedom.
