Hello, hello.

I'm Brittany Luce and you're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR, a show about what's going on in culture and why it doesn't happen by accident.

All right, everybody, this week we are connecting the dots between Columbia University,

Cool Hand Luke, and William F. Buckley.

I already know you are asking, how are all of these things connected?

Well, today we are going to find out with NYU journalism professor

Chenjerai Komenica and author Rick Perlstein. His books like Nixon Land and Reaganland

trace the rise of conservatism in America. Chen Jari, Rick, welcome to it's been a minute.

Yeah, yeah. So excited to be here. Happy to have you both. All right, so let's set the stage

for this conversation.

Last weekend, Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by federal immigration authorities.

Khalil was one of the student leaders in Columbia University's campus protests against the war in Gaza.

He's now a graduate of the university.

What's important to note about his arrest is that Khalil is in fact a green cardholder,

meaning he is a lawful, permanent resident of the United States. So why are federal immigration authorities going out of their way to detain a legal resident of the

United States who hasn't committed any crimes?

Well, President Trump said Khalil's arrest is the first of many to come as part of a policy

to punish protesters who his administration claims are terrorist sympathizers or supporters of Hamas.

This is something that President Trump himself campaigned on during the 2024 election.

Under my administration, we will proactively send ICE to pro-jihadist demonstrations to enforce our immigration laws and remove the violators from our country.

But, to be clear, Khalil has no known ties to Hamas or any terrorist organization.

And, of course, protesting is a right protected by our First Amendment.

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