The Palestine Exception: Why protesting genocide can get you deported 

It started with Mahmoud Khalil. It has grown with Rümeysa Öztürk. It will continue with the disappearances of potentially over 300 more students at universities across the country who are being targeted for their pro-Palestinian activism. America is witnessing a historic bout of repression against its youth, but the question that remains unanswered in the public eye is “why?” Why is it just Palestine that can get someone expelled from this country overnight? The answers are key to understanding the current state of politics and “resistance” in the coming years. 

Across America, there has been a drastic surge in activity from all manners of groups and campaigns in response to the drastic policy changes implemented since the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Activism has been easy to come by as there have been attacks on almost every social cause from the new administration. Whether it be a Stand Up For Science rally in defense of academic research funding, a People’s March for abortion rights or even the demonstrations against Tesla for Elon Musk’s actions, there’s a movement for every person to participate in. In fact, research from University of Connecticut Professor Jeremy Pressman has recorded over two times the amount of protests from January to March of this year than the same period in 2017 when Trump was first elected. The movement for a free Palestine has been no exception to this, as, after a relatively quiet few winter months, it is clear to see that students are back to leading a charge to stop government and educational institutions from materially supporting genocide.  

This has created an interesting dynamic, where for the first time since the movement started, there exists strong alternative spaces for activism within the United States. Since the American public began widely recognizing the atrocities committed against Palestinians in the post-Oct. 7 era, this has become the dominant social movement. Outside of the presidential election in November (which isn’t accurately described as a “social movement” anyways), there has been no other topic or debate which has captured such attention or mobilized people so readily from October 2023 until Trump’s inauguration. So, there exists a special opportunity to understand the differences across the vast landscape of political action right now.  

So far, the clearest one seen has been the amount of repression faced by different campaigns based solely on subject matter. Pro-Palestinian college organizers have seen their universities defunded to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars just to pit administrators against them. They have seen universities and political officials collaborate with private groups like the Canary Mission to profile, record and dox anyone even remotely related to their groups. However, above all else, they’ve seen their fellow students kidnapped off the streets with visas revoked for no alleged crimes at all. The American government has waged an all-out war against students in complete violation of their right to free speech and without any criminal justification whatsoever. It has gone so far as to defy direct court orders in its detainment of these students and has called upon the direct authority of the Secretary of State to back its actions.  

So, why is it just Palestine which has garnered such a response? Why has the environmental movement never seen such active repression? Why have abortion activists never been expelled from the country? Even anti-war activists during the height of the 1960s would only face jail time. This is a departure from the norm of dealing with dissent, and it’s not just a matter of the power of conservatism in government.  

The answer lies in the nature of what these movements challenge and how central their targets are to the structures they are a part of. Fundamentally, Palestine is a decolonial struggle. As such, it presents a dangerous opportunities for large masses of people to learn about and recognize the continued tactics of settler colonial oppression facilitated by the United States. When the public challenges the state of Israel’s oppression of Palestinians, they eventually challenge the same legitimizing myths that this nation is based on. They begin to see how, when Israeli settlers claim that the land is rightfully theirs, that they are “culturally superior” or that they are “just defending themselves,” that these were the same arguments made to destroy indigenous culture in the US. Furthermore, that these are the same arguments which further white supremacy in the US today. The awareness of the interconnected nature of these struggles reveals that they are part of the same structures which further other nationalist, imperialist and capitalist forms of oppression. 

The dominant narratives surrounding movements for abortion access or sustainability have never inherently challenged the same structures, although certain radical sects have challenged this dominance. This is not to say anything about their necessity in creating a better world, but rather to say that the large parts of these movements have not recognized the inherent connection to larger structural inequalities. This makes them less threatening for the ruling class, which can easily co-opt or outright ignore them.  

It is a fundamental type of “logic” which is threatening to those in power, because, once it is accepted by the people, it can be recreated in many more circumstances. It is the logic of a free Palestine which threatens the United States government. When Trump silences dissent and kidnaps more activists, it is no coincidence why they all fight for the same flag. Their logic is the most powerful challenging force in all of America right now, more than any other movement, and that makes them dangerous. We need to be dangerous right now. Free Palestine.