Rubio says detained Columbia student can be deported for beliefs alone

Rubio argues detained Columbia student can be deported for beliefs alone.

Six dead in helicopter crash on Hudson River, including three children.

Dominican Republic: Over 220 dead, including former MLB pitcher, after nightclub roof collapses.

For over a month, 30-year-old Columbia University grad student Mahmoud Khalil has been detained in an ICE facility in Louisiana. Khalil, who is of Palestinian descent, was a student negotiator and spokesperson for the pro-Palestinian protests on the Columbia campus last year. He is also a green card holder, married to an American citizen who will soon give birth to his child. ICE agents detained Khalil at his campus apartment in New York City on March 8 with the intention of deporting him from the US for his participation in the protests.

Agents were apparently initially under the impression that Khalil was in the US on a student visa, which would make him subject to removal for almost any reason. While the First Amendment applies to everyone on American soil, student visa holders do not have the same rights to due process as green card holders and American citizens. In just over a month, over 600 international students have had their student visas revoked, including many who were studying at top universities.

Unlike many who were involved in the Columbia protests, Khalil has never been charged with any crime. Instead, the government is arguing that the State Department has the right to expel any non-citizen whose presence in the country damages foreign policy interests.

Judge demands evidence or release

Earlier this week, Louisiana immigration judge James Comans demanded that the Department of Justice provide evidence justifying his removal from the United States. Otherwise, Comans said that she would throw the case out and end Khalil’s detention.

In response, Secretary of State Marco Rubio submitted a two-page memo. He acknowledged that Khalil’s activities were “otherwise lawful”. However, he claimed that Khalil’s continued presence in the United States would undermine “US policy to combat anti-Semitism around the world and in the United States, in addition to efforts to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence in the United States”.

Khalil’s attorneys said that the memo confirmed that the Trump administration was “targeting Mahmoud’s free speech rights about Palestine”. They argued that Rubio’s memo is “completely devoid of any factual recitation as to why exactly Mahmoud’s presence in the United States is adverse to a compelling US government interest”.

Judge Comans has set a hearing for tomorrow to determine whether the administration can continue to detain Khalil.

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Six dead in helicopter crash on Hudson River, including three children

News outlets are reporting that a family of tourists from Spain perished along with the pilot when their helicopter crashed into the Hudson River, around 3:15 local time this afternoon. Emergency boats were on the scene quickly. Four people were pronounced dead at the scene. Two children were rushed to hospital where they succumbed to their injuries.

Video of the crash has circulated online. It appears that parts of the helicopter, including the rear rotor, detached while still in the air for unknown reasons. The main body of the craft then plummeted straight down into the frigid water.

The helicopter, a Bell 206L-4 LongRanger IV, was in the air for about 16 minutes before the crash. Taking off from lower Manhattan, it circled near the Statue of Liberty, then turned up the Hudson River to the George Washington Bridge. At that point the helicopter turned south before crashing into the water near the New Jersey side.

The helicopter was built in 2004 and had a valid airworthiness certificate. The weather was fair with good visibility. The FAA and NTSB are investigating the incident.

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Dominican Republic: Over 220 dead, including former MLB pitcher, after nightclub roof collapses

On early Tuesday morning, the roof of the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo collapsed. Hundreds of people were inside attending a concert by merengue singer Rubby Perez. After extensive searches, the recovery phase has ended, and the death toll stands at 221 people. Another 155 people were injured and taken to area hospitals. The Dominican Republic Emergency Operations Center said that 189 people were rescued alive.

Now that the recovery phase is over, an assessment will begin as the first step in an investigation into what caused the roof to collapse. It was a fair night on the night of the concert, so weather does not seem to have been a factor.

According to the State Department, 9 US citizen were killed. Rubby Perez, 69, was himself among the dead, as was Dominican fashion designer Martin Polanco.

Many among the dead had ties to Major League baseball, including pitcher Octavio Dotel. Dotel, 51, played for over a dozen MLB teams during his 14-yearl career in the US, including the Mets, the Yankees, and the Braves. A Washington Nationals player, 44-year-old Tony Blanco, was also among the dead. Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the DR’s Monte Cristi province, was also killed. Cruz was the sister of former MLB star Nelson Cruz, a power hitter who played for the Texas Rangers, the Washington Nationals and other teams during his career. MLB Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez also had family members who were missing at the time of the collapse.

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