Weeks after US President Donald Trump's announcement of the 'Gold Card' initiative for the immigration of wealthy foreigners, Vice President JD Vance's latest comments on the rights of green card holders have triggered a fresh debate.
As per the US immigration rules, Green cards are officially regarded as Permanent Resident Cards which allow immigrants to live and work in the United States.
The Vice President on Friday said that despite the name, "permanent residency", Green Card is not an absolute guarantee of an indefinite stay.
"A green card holder doesn't have an indefinite right to be in the United States," JD Vance said in an interview with 'The Ingraham Angle' host Laura Ingraham on Fox News.
“This is not fundamentally about free speech, and to me, yes, it라이브 바카라 about national security, but it라이브 바카라 also more importantly about who do we as an American public decide gets to join our national community,” Vance said.
“And if the secretary of state and the president decide this person shouldn’t be in America, and they have no legal right to stay here, it라이브 바카라 as simple as that," he added.
The Vice President's remarks came in the backdrop of the arrest of Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil. He is a green card holder who was detained on Saturday for his alleged role in protests against the Israel-Hamas war at Columbia University last spring.
According to a provision of the US Immigration and Nationality Act, a law passed in 1952, any immigrant is eligible for deportation if the secretary of state deems their presence in the country potentially.
Detention Of Mahmoud Khalil
Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful US resident with a green card, was detained on Saturday by federal immigration agents in New York. Following his detention, he was sent to an immigration jail in Louisiana.
Khalil is a Palestinian activist. Born in Syria to Palestinian parents, he entered the United States to attend Columbia University in 2022 for his master's degree. During his time here, he married an American citizen, who is now eight months pregnant.
During the widespread protests against Israel's war on Gaza across US universities, Khalil was a key figure and served as a mediator between student protestors and university officials.
While students at Columbia, including those with a Jewish background, have defended Khalil, his role as a mediator was seen in a negative light by pro-Israel groups.
He has been accused of antisemitism, which he has denied, stating that his involvement in the protests was part of a broader anti-war movement which included Jewish students and groups.
Following his arrest, around a hundred protesters rallied near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Manhattan to demand his release.
Khalil's lawyers filed a legal challenge, resulting in a federal New York judge blocking his deportation for the time being.
Khalil, who has not been charged with a crime, is being held in immigration custody in Louisiana after being arrested in New York City on Saturday. Khalil's lawyers have said Trump's administration targeted him for arrest and deportation because of his advocacy in violation of the US Constitution's First Amendment protections for freedom of speech.
