Pro-Palestine student leaves US amid deportation threats

WASHINGTON

A pro-Palestine Cornell University graduate student announced Monday that he has left the US voluntarily amid threats of deportation.

“Today I took the decision to leave the United States, free and with my head held high,” Momodou Taal wrote in a post on X.

Taal’s visa was revoked over his involvement in pro-Palestinian campus protests.

He sued the Trump administration, challenging two executive orders that targeted pro-Palestinian and anti-genocide activism.

Despite a court denial of his first motion, Taal, who is a joint citizen of the UK and Gambia, had hoped a second briefing would allow him to remain in the country while the lawsuit proceeded.

“Given what we have seen across the United States, I have lost faith that a favourable ruling from the courts would guarantee my personal safety and ability to express my beliefs.

"I have lost faith I could walk the streets without being abducted. Weighing these options, I took the decision to leave on my own terms," he said.

Taal stressed that the US government has "no respect" for the judiciary or for the rule of law.

Amid the Trump administration's crackdown on students who participated in pro-Palestinian protests, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that the State Department has revoked 300 or more student visas.