ArcaMax

SAN DIEGO -- Our opinions are often the sum of our experiences. What human beings believe can frequently be traced back to who we are, where we're from, who we love, what we've done and what tribes we call our own. Our personal journey shapes how we see the world.

And so I find myself diving into the tale of Mahmoud Khalil -- the Palestinian activist and former Columbia University graduate student who was recently arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and faces deportation even though he is a legal permanent resident with a green card -- from six different perspectives.

Before I start counting off, here's some of what we know so far from media reports, media reports, social media postings, Khalil's wife and lawyers and advocacy groups on both sides of the arrest.

The story begins with a brass-knuckled executive order by President Donald Trump that aims to deport international students who have participated in university protests against Israel's war with Hamas.

This is the order that ICE agents were enforcing when they arrested Khalil in the lobby of the university housing unit where he lives with his wife, a U.S. citizen who is pregnant with their first child. At the time of last year's protests, Khalil was a graduate student at Columbia who acted as a lead negotiator for activists calling on the university to cut ties with Israel. He appears to have graduated a few months ago.

Trump took to his Truth Social platform to label Khalil a "Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student." The president said this is the "first arrest of many to come." Trump wrote: "We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country -- never to return again."

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that Khalil was detained "in support of President Trump's executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism" and because he led "activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization." And Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on the social media platform X: "We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported."

Even as a Trump critic who has written hundreds of columns criticizing the president for his ham-handed approach to immigration issues, all of this sounds pretty reasonable to me.

The same should be true for anyone who has paid attention to the unrest at colleges and universities over the last year and a half. We've learned that "free speech" can be costly to society when it creates a hostile environment for Jewish students.

At Columbia, students set up a massive tent encampment in the middle of campus. University buildings were occupied. Jewish students were harassed, intimidated and prevented from going near what protesters crudely designated "anti-Zionist zones." Antisemitism surged.

Then-President Minouche Shafik couldn't do anything right. Having stirred the ire of just about everyone, she resigned in August.

Now to the six things that help shape my opinion on this case.

-- I'm the parent of college student who expects the university she attends to ensure her safety. Jewish parents, I'm sure, feel the same way.

-- I'm an American who has no tolerance for protesters who attack my country, especially when they have the luxury to do it from U.S. soil.

-- I'm a supporter of Israel who recognizes that the nation is fighting for its very existence as it tries to destroy Hamas.

-- I'm a journalist who has covered immigration long enough to know that green-card holders don't have the same rights as U.S. citizens.

-- I'm the son of a retired cop who doesn't believe in coddling lawbreakers and those who seek to disrupt the social order.

-- And I'm the grandson of a legal Mexican immigrant who was always on his best behavior out of respect for the country that took him in.

We're having the wrong discussion. Instead of arguing over the right to free speech, we ought to be affirming that Americans have the right to expect that migrants -- including green card holders -- remain on their best behavior while they live in this country.

They should mind their manners, watch their actions and be grateful for the opportunity to live in this remarkable place. Only then can they avoid the virus that currently afflicts so many native-born Americans: a crippling sense of entitlement.

A green card is not a blank check. It's an audition on the path to U.S. citizenship. Mahmoud Khalil appears to have failed his.

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To find out more about Ruben Navarrette and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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