Cornell student suit against deportation of anti-Israel activists cites Jewish group

A Cornell University graduate student has filed suit against the Trump administration’s efforts to deport pro-Palestinian campus protesters, saying that the push represents an illegal infringement on protected speech.

Momodou Taal is a Gambian-British national who has been a protest leader at the upstate New York university. Cornell briefly suspended him in both April 2024 and September 2024, following protests on its campus that administrators said violated university rules.

Taal has also been the target of advocacy by pro-Israel groups that have sought to identify students who might be eligible for deportation under US President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting those who endorse terrorism or antisemitism on college campuses.

According to a fact sheet about the order, it aims to “combat the explosion of anti-Semitism on our campuses and in our streets since October 7, 2023,” the date that Palestinian terror group Hamas invaded southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, abducting hundreds of hostages, and triggering the ensuing war in the Gaza Strip.

Critics say the measure is aimed more broadly at pro-Palestinian campus protesters, with rights groups and legal scholars saying it would violate constitutional free speech rights and would likely draw legal challenges.

The lawsuit, filed Friday on behalf of Taal and two other Cornell affiliates by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, cites targeting by a pro-Israel group, Betar US, as a reason that Taal should face relief:

“Mr. Taal has also been directly targeted by Zionist groups advocating for his removal from the US. In November 2024, Betar US (“Betar”) compiled a list of pro-Palestinian foreign students it sought to have deported, naming Mr. Taal as the sole individual identified. Betar’s director, Ross Glick, delivered this list to Senator John Fetterman and aides from the offices of Senators Ted Cruz and James Lankford, later telling the New York Post, “They all gave me the thumbs up.” And added that Betar was in communication with prospective Trump administration appointees at the Department of Justice regarding enforcement actions against individuals on the list. …”

On March 13, 2025, Betar posted a “Deport Alert” that specifically named Taal.

Deport alert:

Momodou Taal
 
Affiliation: Cornell University
Role: Graduate student
Countries of Origin: Gambia and the United Kingdom
Taal, who disclosed his F-1 visa status in an October interview with Inside Higher Ed, has repeatedly advocated for "armed resistance" and…

— Betar Worldwide (@Betar_USA) March 13, 2025

In that alert, posted on social media, Betar US cited Taal’s social media posts and speeches at rallies to claim that he had expressed support for “armed resistance” on behalf of the Palestinian cause. They note that he disclosed his non-citizen status in an interview with Inside Higher Ed last fall, in which Taal said he feared that he was effectively facing deportation because of his suspension.

Betar US, which has taken a militant approach to anti-Israel protests, has generated a list of student protesters that it says are not citizens and shared it with the Trump administration, aiming for their deportation. How the administration is using the list is not clear, but pro-Israel Jewish groups called attention to Mahmoud Khalil in the days before the Columbia University graduate student was arrested by ICE agents last week and cheered his arrest.

“Mr. Taal’s growing fear that he will be the target of an ICE removal operation is grounded in a pattern of escalating attention, coordination among high-ranking political and influential private actors, and public threats by figures with the power to influence immigration enforcement decisions,” the suit said.

The lawsuit also noted that Taal and some of his fellow protesters have ceased meeting publicly to discuss their activities, fearing that any communication would be perceived as showing support for Hamas.

“This lawsuit is aimed at reversing the chill on speech and making people feel confident to stand up,” Taal said in a statement on Sunday. “I am fighting for our First Amendment rights and our ability to protest genocide, and stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. When we are attacked for speech, we have to exercise even more of it.”

????Momodou Taal IS NOT AN AMERICAN CITIZEN. So WHY is he still here?????

This America-hating Hamas-supporter is BLATANTLY violating his visa @ICEgov @DHSgov

Would you like to help notify authorities?

It's as simple as liking/reposting & dropping a comment! pic.twitter.com/wH4ax3GkNS

— Jews Fight Back ???????????????? (@JewsFightBack) March 16, 2025

In past remarks posted to social media Taal has described the urge to “smash something” as the “sexy part of organizing [protests]” and that the US “like Zionism, has an insatiable bloodlust.”

During his first suspension in April 2024, following the dismantling of Cornell’s pro-Palestinian encampment, Taal addressed supporters on campus. “Before I go to bed, I say to myself, ‘If I live into my eighties, will I ever regret going this hard for Palestine?’ and I won’t,” he said, speaking into a megaphone, according to video shared by the Cornell Daily Sun student newspaper. “So whilst I love all the support and solidarity from faculty, from my comrades, from my peers, please, do not let this become about any one of us.”

The Hamas attack and the subsequent Israeli campaign against the terrorist organization led to months of pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests that roiled US college campuses, with several heads of top universities resigning in the wake of criticism over their responses to antisemitism at their schools.

Many anti-Israel protesters denied supporting Hamas or engaging in antisemitic acts and said they were demonstrating against Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, where Hamas health authorities say more than 47,000 people have been killed, an unverified figure that doesn’t differentiate between non-combatants and fighters.