Momodou Taal is citizen of the United Kingdom and Gambia. He is a PhD student at Cornell University, but now he is up against a potentially career-ending challenge from immigration authorities. Taal is now a PhD candidate at Cornell’s Africana Studies and Research Center. They’re an outspoken campus political activist. His activism resulted in two suspensions last year for supposedly disruptive protests, jeopardizing his visa status in the process. While Taal was eventually permitted to resume classes online, their situation is still threatening and uncertain.
Taal is one of three current and former Cornell students suing their alma mater. What’s more, they are suing to stop the enforcement of controversial executive orders from the Trump administration. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) filed the lawsuit March 15. Taal was worried in a statement accompanying the lawsuit that the administration’s intensifying crackdown on protestors puts their rights at risk. His participation in that lawsuit has required him to cancel his forthcoming international speaking engagements. In exchange, he lives in fear of detention, which prevents him from seeing relatives now living in London.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has ordered Taal to report to immigration authorities. Then a lawyer from the justice department called Taal’s lawyers with an unusual request. They petitioned for Taal to appear in person to accept a “notice to appear,” and to voluntarily surrender. This turn of events has further raised Taal’s fears for his safety and freedom.
"Only in a dictatorship can the leader jail and banish political opponents for criticizing his administration." – Momodou Taal
According to Taal’s lawyers, this outspoken nature has led Taal to fear arrest by Philippine immigration officials or police. They argue that attempts to detain or remove Taal are linked to his participation in challenging the Trump administration’s executive orders. His legal team emphasized the fact that he has been forced to cancel international engagements and is living under the constant threat of arrest.
"he lives in constant fear that he may be arrested by immigration officials or police as a result of his speech," – Taal's lawyers
The lawsuit claims that the executive orders have unconstitutionally silenced plaintiffs and prohibited them from engaging with viewpoints critical of the U.S. government or Israel. This important case demonstrates the continued struggle for free speech rights against growing government power and control.
"has unconstitutionally silenced plaintiffs and chilled protected expression, prohibiting them from speaking, hearing, or engaging with viewpoints critical of the US government or the government of Israel" – Mukoma Wa Ngũgĩ, Sriram Parasuram