To the editor:

This past Saturday Immigration and Customs Enforcement took student activist Mahmoud Khalil into custody. Khalil has broken no laws and committed no crimes. He is a lawful permanent resident. A college grad. An activist. And now, he’s vanished into ICE custody for saying things the government didn’t like. That’s not national security, that’s retaliation. And it’s a direct hit to the idea that free speech protects everyone, not just the people in power or the ones saying things we agree with.

The same crowd screaming about cancel culture because a pundit lost a book deal has nothing to say when the state comes knocking for a young man speaking out on behalf of Palestinians. Kahlil’s arrest is a direct attack on the First Amendment and the Constitution. This isn’t a slippery slope. We’re already sliding.

You don’t have to agree with Khalil to be outraged. You just have to believe in the Constitution. And if we can’t draw the line here, then what’s left to defend?

Nicholas Demuth

Garvin