I was reading an article by Natasha Leonard in The Intercept this morning, and I was appalled. The story detailed how Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and legal U.S. resident, was unjustly detained by ICE for his involvement in peaceful political activism. Khalil has not been charged with any crime, yet he now faces deportation for nothing more than exercising his First Amendment rights. This blatant violation of constitutional protections is as enrgaging as it is expected from this regime.

That’s why I created an ActionButton urging people to contact their legislators and demand justice for Mahmoud Khalil. For those unfamiliar, ActionButton is a tool that makes it easy to mobilize supporters and connect them directly with their elected representatives. As someone who works at NationBuilder — the platform that powers ActionButton — this was a chance for me to put our own tool to use for an issue I care about deeply. A bit of dogfooding, if you will.

When someone like Khalil can be targeted and detained solely for participating in peaceful activism, it's not just his rights at risk — it's a threat to all of us. This isn't someone using "free speech" as a marketing ploy to grow their substack -- this is what I looks like when the state cracks down. 

If you agree, I encourage you to take a moment to use the ActionButton above and tell your legislators to oppose this unconstitutional attack on free speech and demand Khalil's release.

Photo by Michael Muthee on Unsplash