Trump administration cites power to deport people for their beliefs in Mahmoud Khalil case

Rather than present specific evidence of wrongdoing against Palestinian Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, the Trump administration on Thursday filed a brief memo outlining its power to deport noncitizens based on the beliefs they hold.

The memo signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, first reported by The Associated Press, said Khalil’s presence in the U.S. could jeopardize “U.S. policy to combat anti-Semitism around the world and in the United States, in addition to efforts to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence in the United States,” even if his activities were “otherwise lawful.”

“Condoning anti-Semitic conduct and disruptive protests in the United States would severely undermine that significant foreign policy objective,” the two-page memo read.

The memo came in Khalil’s immigration case after multiple requests by his attorneys for evidence against him. Immigration Judge Jamee Comans requested the feds turn over evidence before he considers arguments at a hearing Friday about Khalil’s continued detention.

The green card holder, a lawful permanent resident, was taken into custody at his Columbia University-owned apartment on March 8 and told he was being deported for his participation in campus protests against the war in Gaza and Columbia’s investment ties to Israel.

The following day, Khalil was transported to a detention facility more than 1,000 miles away in Jena, Louisiana.

Spokespeople for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to the New York Daiy News’ requests for comment.

—New York Daily News

Florida’s DOGE agency asks university faculty to hand over research

TAMPA, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office has asked colleges and universities across Florida to hand over detailed information on grants received by faculty and research over the last six years.

Colleges this week began the process of asking professors for the information, which would be supplied for Florida’s newly formed cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, initiative.

“Unfortunately, we do not have any additional insights beyond what was stated in Gov. DeSantis’s executive order forming the Florida DOGE,” Nathaniel Southerland, the vice president of academic affairs at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, wrote in an email to faculty Wednesday. “I remain confident that the information we supply will demonstrate that Santa Fe College is a good steward of taxpayers’ dollars.”

Schools must turn over the list of published papers by April 18, according to the letter.

“There is a huge cost associated with this. Immense resources that could be going elsewhere,” said University of South Florida engineering professor David Simmons, who serves as president of the school’s faculty senate.

“Faculty research is already available publicly available on databases like Google Scholar,” he said. “Right now, we don’t know why this has been requested.”

DeSantis told state university leaders last month that the review was part of his office's effort find inefficiencies and make the public higher education system a “well-oiled machine.”

He added that his team will be rooting out noncompliance with state laws over diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

—Tampa Bay Times

Michigan Supreme Court nixes mandatory life sentences for 19-, 20-year-old murderers

LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Thursday that individuals who were 19 or 20 years old when they murdered someone in Michigan should be resentenced.

The court in a 5-2 opinion found a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole for first degree murder is an "unconstitutionally cruel punishment" for 19- and 20-year-olds because their brains aren't fully developed. One justice said he would extend the ruling to 25-year-old offenders.

"As applied to defendants who were 19 or 20 years old at the time of their crime, a mandatory LWOP (life without parole) sentence that does not allow for consideration of the mitigating factors of youth or the potential for rehabilitation is a grossly disproportionate punishment," Justice Elizabeth Welch wrote in the 5-2 majority opinion.

The decision split along party lines, with five Democratic-nominated justices supporting the majority and two Republican-nominated justices opposing.

In a concurrence, Democratic-nominated Justice Richard Bernstein agreed with the decision but said the line drawn for murders who were 21 years of age or older at the time of the crime was "underinclusive."

"I would instead follow the thoughtful conclusions of the many scientific studies presented before us and relied upon in both Parks and these cases, and hold that the turning point for any test, be it a brightline rule or a shifting age-based presumption, starts at age 25 and not age 21," Bernstein wrote.

Republican-nominated Justice Elizabeth Clement, joined by Justice Brian Zahra, wrote that first degree murder is "arguably the gravest offense under Michigan law, and it deserves the most severe sentence in Michigan." If a change is needed that recognizes a young person's immaturity or undeveloped neuroscience, the Legislature should be the one to make that change, Clement wrote.

The decision again opens a flood gate for offenders to petition for resenting in courts throughout the state.

—The Detroit News

Death toll from Dominican Republic roof collapse rises to 218

BUENOS AIRES — The death toll from the collapse of a nightclub roof in the Dominican Republic has jumped to 218, the head of the civil protection agency said on Thursday.

Another 155 people have been rescued from the rubble and brought to hospital after parts of the roof of nightclub Jet Set collapsed early on Tuesday, Juan Manuel Méndez said.

Emergency responders continue to search for bodies, according to the official. "We are leaving no one behind," he said, while cautioning that no survivors have been found since Tuesday afternoon.

Dominican Republic authorities said Wednesday evening the search and rescue operation launched after the deadly collapse has been replaced by a "body recovery phase."

Hundreds of party-goers were in the club during a concert by the merengue singer Rubby Pérez when the accident occurred.

Pérez, who was popular in Latin America, also died in the collapse.

The regional governor of the Monte Cristi province, Nelsy Cruz, was also killed, her brother said in an Instagram post.

Former baseball player Tony Blanco, who played in the U.S. for nine years and eight more in Japan, also died, Major League Baseball said.

The cause of the roof's collapse was initially unclear.

—dpa

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