In Wednesday’s episode of his podcast, “Verdict with Ted Cruz,” the Republican Senator addressed the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian-born former graduate student at Columbia University, who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on charges of organizing anti-American and pro-Hamas protests.
Khalil, who entered the United States in 2022 as a student and subsequently obtained a green card through marriage to an American citizen, has been accused of orchestrating demonstrations that were perceived as anti-American and supportive of Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.
“He got a green card very quickly, and in his time in America… he organized anti-America, anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, pro-Hamas protests,” Senator Cruz stated.
Addressing those on the left opposing Khalil’s detention, he emphasized that while American citizens are protected under the First Amendment, these protections do not extend to foreign nationals engaging in activities that undermine the country.
“Under U.S. law, American citizens are protected by the First Amendment. Foreigners are not. A visa to come to this country as a student, that is a permissive decision. And you do not have a right, if you are a guest to this country, to actively undermine America,” he stated.
Delivering a sharp warning against foreign nationals engaging in anti-American activism, Senator Cruz asserted that those who “hate America” have no place in the country.
“Let me be clear to anyone. If you hate America, if you want to undermine America, do not come to this country,” he stated, insisting that the Trump administration “rightly” arrested and plans to deport Khalil for “organizing anti-Israel, anti-America, pro-Hamas protests.”
Senator Cruz also called out the reaction of Democrats, who have expressed outrage and are determined to “stand with Khalil” and the “anti-Israel, pro-Hamas protesters.”
“So if you want to know where you stand — if you stand with Israel, if you stand with American Jews, if you stand with freedom, if you stand with the right to be free from oppression and violence — that ain’t the Democrats,” he stated. “They stand with those engaged in violence.”
The matter comes as Khalil, who was arrested by ICE on Saturday for ties to pro-Hamas activism and now faces deportation, continues to garner support from Democrats and many on the left.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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