Trump campus crackdown faces 2 key hearings
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The Trump administration will face two temporary restraining order hearings on Tuesday regarding its efforts to root out antisemitism across U.S. college campuses.

The first case involves Mahmoud Khalil, one of the ringleaders of the Columbia University protests who was detained by ICE earlier this month and who the Trump administration is trying to deport, while the second case involves Cornell University student Momodou Taal and two others who argue their free speech is being attacked for taking part in the campus protests.

In the Khalil case, a federal New York City judge will hear a request by Khalil for a temporary restraining order to prevent Columbia University from handing over Khalil’s disciplinary records – as well as other student protesters’ records – to the Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Trump and protesters

The Trump administration will face two temporary restraining order hearings on Tuesday involving student protesters Mahmoud Khalil, inset, and Momodou Taal. (Getty Images)

Tall also filed an emergency motion to prevent an attempt to detain or deport him ahead of the hearing scheduled in Syracuse, New York, before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth C. Coombe.

Trump’s Department of Justice is seeking to have Taal, who is in the U.S. on a visa, surrender to immigration authorities, according to court documents. Taal holds dual citizenship in the United Kingdom and Gambia.

Taal, who has been an anti-Israel student activist since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, has praised the “resistance” against Israel several times on his X account. Despite being accepted on a student visa in 2022, Taal has also posted about his “hatred” for the U.S. and called for “the end of the US empire.”

A pro-Palestinian demonstrator holds a flag on the rooftop of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University

An anti-Israel demonstrator holds a flag on the rooftop of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in New York, on April 30, 2024. (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Earlier this month, the Trump administration pulled $400 million in research grants and other funding over how Columbia University handled protests against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. In order to consider restoring those funds and billions more in future grants, federal officials demanded nine separate changes to the university’s academic and security policies, including overhauling its rules for protests and student discipline.

Trump in January signed an executive order on “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism.” The directive gave all federal agencies a 60-day window to identify civil and criminal authorities available to combat antisemitism and deport anti-Jewish activists who broke any laws. 

The Justice Department then formed a multi-agency taskforce to combat antisemitism.

Fox News’ Taylor Penley, Kendall Gastelu, Alexis McAdams, Jamie Joseph and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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