Momodou Taal, a Cornell graduate student, and a dual citizen of the UK and the Gambia, has been asked to surrender to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, by the Department of Justice, according to a court filing. This is the latest incident of the Donald Trump administration taking stern steps against foreign students accusing them of Hamas support.
“ICE invites Mr. Taal and his counsel to appear in-person at the HSI Office in Syracuse at a mutually agreeable time for personal service of the NTA and for Mr Taal to surrender to ICE custody. Accordingly, if you are interested in proposing such a date and time, we will promptly forward it to ICE for consideration,” the email read.
Taal, however, faced action from the university earlier and was suspended twice for his participation in pro-Palestine protests.
One of Taal’s attorneys, Eric Lee, told NBC that before the email asking him to surrender was sent, unidentified agents showed up outside his student apartment building and began asking other residents about him. “It is not yet clear what grounds for removal the government alleges exist here,” Lee said in his court filing on Friday, adding that Taal has been living in the US and has been admitted into the country multiple times.
“Trump is attempting to detain me to prevent me from having my day in court,” Taal posted on X. His day in court refers to his lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s executive orders to “combat anti-semitism” on college campuses. “He lives in constant fear that he may be arrested by immigration officials or police as a result of his speech,” Taal’s attorneys said in the lawsuit that they think might have attracted the latest plan to deport him.
On October 7, 2023, immediately after the Hamas attack on Israel, Taal posted, “Colonised peoples have the right to resist by any means necessary” and “Glory to the resistance!” drawing massive flak.