It was nearly a year ago that Khalil became a household name as the first high-profile ICE apprehension of Donald Trump’s return to office. Last March, he was detained at his New York City apartment complex over his advocacy at Columbia University for Palestinian rights and against American complicity in Israel’s siege and bombardment of Gaza.
But the political winds have shifted. Khalil is no longer just a target, but a witness to ICE’s hard streak, one that he endured for more than 100 days of detention. Americans are increasingly sympathetic.
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“I was the first to be called a terrorist sympathizer,” Khalil reflected, recalling the rhetoric sounded by Trump as he was being whisked away to a 70-man dorm in a Louisiana detention center while his wife was eight months pregnant. “Now this administration has used it against anyone who was protesting against them in the streets.”
The alarm has been blaring but nobody is responding
It appears the “Blame The Immigrants” alarm is too loud and overpowers it, I think the solution is to position ourselves as only hating immigrants somewhat, surely that will make us popular and then people will listen.
I promise when I am elected to always be just a tiny bit less bigoted than the opposition, I live by my values that is just the kind of everyday guy I am.
Reminds me of when Disney proclaims a character is gay but barely shows it (for example, Le Fou in the live action Beauty and the Beast). They try to appease LGBT people and allies by having a gay character while also trying to appease the bigots by making it so you wouldn’t know the character is gay unless you were told. Instead of appeasing both sides, it pisses off both sides.