Gambian-born British citizen Momodou Taal, a 30-year-old PhD student at Cornell University, is facing the threat of deportation from the US. His crime? Pro-Palestine activism.
According to Inside Higher Ed, this may be the first case since the latest spate of pro-Palestine protests kicked off almost a year ago in which a student-visa holder in the US faces deportation.
Taal’s most recent troubles began when he and over 100 students protested defence contractors Boeing and L3Harris at a career fair on 18 September.
Students demand Cornell divest from investments in weapons manufacturers, saying such financial relationships make the university complicit in what the International Court of Justice ruled in January a ‘plausible’ g*nocide in Gaza, as well as ongoing settler violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
In April, about two-thirds of students approved a resolution calling on Cornell to divest from BAE Systems, Boeing, Elbit Systems, General Dynamics, L3Harris Technologies, Leonardo, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX, and ThyssenKrupp.
In the third year of an Africana studies doctoral programme, Taal said the university has yet to follow due process, denying him the ability to go through the proper channels to appeal a possible suspension. An official suspension would nullify Taal’s F-1 student visa, forcing him to leave the US immediately. This is the second time he has faced suspension related to pro-Palestine activism.
About 7,000 people have signed on to an open letter demanding Taal’s reinstatement.
In his defence, Taal asserts that his actions have been peaceful and within the bounds of the First Amendment. He believes the real issue Cornell wants him gone is because he is a Black Muslim student. Black Students United, the umbrella organisation encompassing dozens of Black cultural, mentorship, performance, professional and Greek organisations, said following through with a suspension would make Cornell an ‘unsafe space for all Black students.’
‘When it comes to Palestine,’ Taal argued, ‘the university is willing to forsake its commitments to academic freedom and free speech to protect its corporate interests.’
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It’s not wise for Africans to get caught up in wars between Caucasoid groups when we have our own problems. #Haiti #DRC #Sudan #Kenya #Cameroon #Mali @Burkina Faso @Niger