Trump Deportation Threats Draw Lawsuit From Cornell Students (2)

A Cornell University professor and two grad students are suing President Trump and the Department of Homeland Security over executive orders that threaten to deport and prosecute those who express views critical of the US or Israeli governments.

The “unprecedented and sweeping” orders violate the plaintiffs’ free speech and due process rights, they said March 15 in their lawsuit filed with the US District Court for the Northern District of New York.

The plaintiffs cite the recent arrest and detention of former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of that campus’s pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

One of the plaintiffs, Cornell grad student Momodou Taal, alleges he has faced “escalating scrutiny” by federal officials including members of Congress after becoming “a prominent voice within the student movement,” the suit says. The complaint describes Taal as a non-citizen lawfully living in the US.

Taal, an “outspoken critic” of US foreign policy, “particularly regarding military and financial support for Israel,” faced university disciplinary measures for his participation in student protests, the suit says. Cornell suspended him twice in 2024, but didn’t impose sanctions affecting his immigration status, the suit says.

Taal, Professor Mũkoma Wa Ngũgĩ and grad student Sriram Parasurama are asking the court to vacate the prohibition in Executive Order 14161, titled “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats,” which restricts speech critical of the government, its institutions, and American culture as applied to non-citizens lawfully living in the US.

They’re also asking that the court prevent the administration from enforcing the part of Executive Order 14188, called “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism,” which they say limits speech and activity by citizens and lawfully present non-citizens critical of the Israeli government.

The executive orders have forced Taal “to profoundly alter his prior speech and association patterns,” the plaintiffs say. He has refrained from attending protests or public political meetings, “substantially” reduced his activity on social media, and no longer discusses politics with associates from Cornell, “fearing his words will be misinterpreted or reported to government authorities,” the suit says. “He lives in constant fear that he may be arrested by immigration officials or police as a result of his speech.”

Wa Ngũgĩ and Parasurama likewise “now fear retaliation for engaging in constitutionally protected expression” that’s critical of US foreign policy and supports Palestinian human rights, they say.

Defendants’ own statements make it clear that the orders are intended to suppress dissenting viewpoints, the Cornell plaintiffs allege. They cite Trump’s statement in May that, “One thing I do is, any student that protests, I throw them out of the country. You know, there are a lot of foreign students. As soon as they hear that, they’re going to behave.”

It’s a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the US, said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a written statement emailed Monday. “When you advocate for violence and terrorism that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country,” she said.

Spokespeople from the White House didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Davis Ndanusa Ikhlas & Saleem LLP represent Taal and the other plaintiffs.

The case is Taal v. Trump, N.D.N.Y., No. 3:25-cv-00335, complaint 3/15/25