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If Trump can deport pro-Palestinian activists, journalists could be next

3 months 1 week ago

Free speech advocates are rightly outraged by the Trump administration’s arrest — no, abduction — of Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil. But it’s shortsighted to view the threat as limited to college students, immigrants, or pro-Palestinian activists.

Yes, it’s fair to say that the people most similarly situated to Khalil are the ones at the highest immediate risk. But authoritarianism is a slippery slope. President Donald Trump fantasized on social media last week about throwing people who protest Tesla into Salvadorian prisons, without regard for their citizenship status.

Raphael Satter, an American journalist who covers cybersecurity for Reuters, likely has a clearer view than most about where this could all be headed. Until his reporting led to its revocation, Satter also held overseas citizen of India status — a special multipurpose visa designation for certain people of Indian origin or those married to an Indian national.

In 2023, Satter reported on Indian tech executive Rajat Khare and his company Appin’s alleged hack-for-hire business. The revelations in Satter’s reporting prompted a global censorship campaign driven by Khare and his lawyers and facilitated by Indian courts. Through lawsuits and legal threats, they managed to have Satter’s article and other reports about Khare largely removed from the internet.

Reuters recently reposted Satter’s article after a judge lifted an order to delete it. But that wasn’t the end of the story. On the same day that censorship order was first issued, India revoked Satter’s overseas citizenship, stating in a letter that the revocation was the result of Satter “practicing journalism without proper permission,” which had been “maliciously creating adverse and biased opinion against Indian institutions in the international arena.”

Satter recently filed his own lawsuit to restore his status. He told The Guardian that the revocation of his OCI had “effectively cut me off from members of my family and a country I hold in great affection and respect.”

One thing that’s remarkable about Satter’s case is that his article didn’t criticize (or even mention) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his administration. Nor did it contradict the administration’s position on a major international issue, in contrast with Khalil’s disagreement with the Trump administration’s vision of obliterating Gaza to build resorts.

Once a government claims the power to use residency status as a cudgel to regulate speech, things escalate quickly and unpredictably.

Instead, it was critical of a corporation and business executive — one who, as far as we know, doesn’t even have close ties to the Modi administration. Most of the events Satter reported on occurred over a decade ago, before Modi came to power in 2014. Khare apparently lives in Switzerland these days.

But a journalist suggesting the mere existence of corporate crime in India was enough for the government to retaliate against him for making it look bad. It goes to show that once a government claims the power to use residency status as a cudgel to regulate speech, things escalate quickly and unpredictably.

Sure, India under Modi is, in many ways, further along on the path toward authoritarianism than the United States. The Modi administration censors its critics in ways that Trump perhaps can’t — at least not yet.

But it would be naive to think we’re that far behind. Case in point: in response to financial pressure from Trump, Columbia is reportedly (and inexcusably) investigating an op-ed writer who criticized Israel. As Chip Gibbons recently detailed in Jacobin, Khalil’s case is just the latest chapter in a long history of abuse of immigration laws to stifle dissent.

And Columbia’s journalism school is already telling non-American student journalists that they’re at risk of deportation for reporting on the Israel-Gaza war or related protests. Professors have been unfairly criticized for acknowledging this reality, but Satter’s case shows how right they are.

The administration publicly justifies its actions against Khalil by citing alleged support for terrorism, but tellingly, the authority the administration is actually using to deport him is not derived from anti-terrorism laws — which there is no evidence he violated.

Instead, it’s citing an amorphous immigration provision that Trump can invoke (unless the courts or Congress stop him) whenever he concocts “foreign policy” concerns. To Trump, that means disagreeing with him on foreign policy, as journalists are prone to do.

Journalists from around the world report from perspectives that American journalists can’t, and reach communities that American journalists don’t. To state the obvious, the ability to live here allows them to do a better job of that.

And in some cases, their work here could guarantee them a prison sentence, or worse, if they’re deported — that’s the situation Voice of America reporters from Russia and other antidemocratic regimes may find themselves in if Trump’s efforts to dismantle the agency are allowed to stand.

In the past, Americans could shake their heads when they read stories like Satter’s and assure themselves that, whatever problems we may have, that kind of thing won’t happen here. No more.

Satter’s case is a not-so-farfetched cautionary tale — if a few years down the line we’re expelling journalists who offend Trump or his oligarchs, we can’t say we weren’t warned.

Seth Stern

Opinion: Virginia Woulfe-Beile Endorses Susan Robbins For Godfrey Clerk  

3 months 1 week ago
Letter To The Editor: GODFREY - When Godfrey voters go to the polls on or before April 1st, they can be confident that casting a vote for Susan Robbins will ensure they have chosen the only qualified candidate for the position. Susan is a certified municipal clerk who understands the levity of the office, which is tasked with statutory compliance and memorializing Village business, among many other duties. Susan Robbins has been a valued Village staff member since 2001, filling various roles. In 2019, she was promoted to Deputy Clerk. Soon after, beloved Clerk Bethany Bohn suffered a lengthy illness and untimely death. Susan stepped up to fill her role. I witnessed Susan’s ability to make a seamless transition in what could have been a chaotic time, had it not been for her steadfast professionalism and grace under pressure. Besides running an efficient office, Susan is a people person who serves the public with a great attitude and a welcoming smile. She knows how to have

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New Production at Fabulous Fox Takes on rare growing disorder

3 months 1 week ago

“Kimberly Akimbo” Seizes the Day in a Comical Way by Pat Lindsey          In New Jersey lives a sweet teenager named Kimberly Levaco (Carolee Carmello), who only has weeks or months to live. She has a genetic disorder known as progeria that makes her age four or five times faster than her peers. […]

The post New Production at Fabulous Fox Takes on rare growing disorder appeared first on flovalleynews.com.

independentnws

Panera names CEO amid cuts

3 months 1 week ago
The official had been acting as interim CEO since January. The appointment comes as the fast-casual brand appears to be expanding its test of an on-demand baking model.
Jacob Kirn

OSF HealthCare Again Named One Of America's Most Innovative Companies By Fortune

3 months 1 week ago
PEORIA – OSF HealthCare has once again been recognized by Fortune as one of America's Most Innovative Companies for 2025. OSF first received this distinction in 2023. This ranking is highly competitive, with only the top 300 companies selected from thousands analyzed. Winners were determined by Fortune and Statista, the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider, through a rigorous evaluation process that included a survey of 40,000 U.S. employees and 2,500 industry experts, as well as patient data and expert advisory board reviews. Organizations were assessed in three key areas: product innovation, process innovation, and innovation culture. Of the 300 U.S. companies with the highest score awarded by Fortune as America’s Most Innovative Companies 2025 OSF was rated at 264 overall with an improvement in its culture (249) and process (202) scores from 2023. OSF was the only health care system in Illinois to make the list. The recognition highlights significan

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Democratic attorneys general face off with Trump administration over rehiring fired feds

3 months 1 week ago
BALTIMORE — A federal judge in Maryland said Wednesday he will briefly extend his temporary order requiring the Trump administration to reinstate federal jobs for 24,000 fired probationary employees while he considers whether to make it last until the case is decided. U.S. District Judge James Bredar in the District of Maryland told the plaintiffs […]
Ashley Murray

Where Are the Firebreaks?

3 months 1 week ago
Today on TAP: As Trump continues trying to rule by decree, wreck public institutions, and intimidate his opposition, we need to be strategic in restraining him.
Robert Kuttner

The Collapse Of Republican Seriousness

3 months 1 week ago
Few moments better illustrate the GOP’s descent into constitutional incoherence than Senator John Curtis’s appearance on Meet the Press this weekend. In a display of breathtaking historical illiteracy wrapped in pseudo-constitutional rhetoric, Curtis characterized President Trump’s threats to impeach a federal judge who ruled against his deportation orders as—wait for it—“what our founders intended.” This statement deserves to be […]
Mike Masnick