Khalid Turaani, executive director of The Center for American-Islamic Relations of Ohio, is advising international students attending school in the U.S. on an F-1 visa against protesting in the country for their own safety.
Turaani was presenting the organization's annual civil rights report at a Tuesday press conference when he made the comments. The report was titled "Unconstitutional Crackdowns" this year, largely due to government and police shutting down protests in 2024.
"If you are a student on an F-1 visa, on a student visa, do not participate in any activism in the United States. It is not a safe place, nor it is a time for you to participate. Just do your...studies and do not participate," Turaani said.
Turaani's warning comes after a Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian protest organizer was arrested in New York by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, despite legally being in the country on a green card. NPR reports that Mahmoud Khalil's deportation was halted by a federal judge on Tuesday.
Khalil's arrest has sparked concerns over the rights of green card holders and international students across the country. After Khalil's arrest, Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted an AP news story to social media and said, "We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported."
President Donald Trump has also posted on social media, threatening funding of universities that allow "illegal protests."
Ohio State University spokesman Ben Johnson said in a statement the university condemns antisemitism and discrimination.
"Ohio State has an unwavering commitment to free speech, and we have no tolerance for antisemitism, discrimination or hatred," Johnson said.
Turaani said at the press conference he believes Trump is politicizing student protests.
"For our government and the federal government to start investigating universities because their students are calling a genocide a genocide, I think it should be alarming not only to the universities, but to everybody," Turaani said.
Turaani was critical of Trump's actions.
"Mistreating the weakest, the littlest, the least has become almost a national sport and some people even take pride in the targeting of immigrants, targeting people of color, and we see that now translated into the annals of politics and that is really concerning," Turaani said.
Turaani also said he believes colleges like Ohio State University are eagerly complying with Trump and state laws against diversity, equity and inclusion. Ohio State President Ted Carter said the university took action "proactively" and closed its DEI offices before the Ohio Senate passed the pending bill that would ban such programs.
The U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday it would continue an investigation into antisemitism begun under President Joe Biden into Ohio State and 59 other universities. A press release from the department overtly warned of "enforcement action" against the universities if they do not fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus.
Johnson said in an email to WOSU about Khalil's arrest that they don't wish to speculate or make sweeping declarations based on something that happened at a different university in another city and state.
OSU professor Pranav Jani, who is faculty advisor to the Students for Justice in Palestine group, told WOSU that students and other people are worried about what the university and government's actions mean for free speech. He said the "trauma of April 25," when about three dozen people were arrested on campus, still lingers.
"I think OSU has a choice to make," Jani said. "OSU repeatedly says 'We defend the right to free speech.' They repeatedly say that... We think that they actually don't. They've been actually quite repressive against the pro-Palestine movement."
Jani cited the arrests of the students, faculty and community members who protested on campus in April. Jani pointed to police in riot gear and police posting officers on top of the Ohio Union with sniper rifles.
"If OSU would say that 'no, we are not going to let people go after students for exercising their rights to free speech.' If they're going to draw the line, I really hope they do. I really hope they draw the line right now. Honestly, I don't have much confidence," Jani said.
Turaani was also critical of OSU's response to the protests.
Turaani and Jani both condemned antisemitism. But both said that shouldn't come at the cost of free speech criticizing Israel.
"We should absolutely fight antisemitism, but here, an Islamophobic, anti-Arab discriminatory policy is going to be followed on the name of fighting another discrimination. And I think OSU should recognize that these are all racialized attacks as well," Jani said.
OSU posted guidance a week ago to students, faculty and staff about what should be done if an ICE agent shows up on campus. Generally, that includes calling the OSU Office of Legal Affairs.
That guidance makes it clear that OSU police does coordinate with ICE's operations should ICE request help.
“Generally, all local, state and federal law enforcement agencies – including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – coordinate with the Ohio State University Police Division (OSUPD) when they have enforcement needs on campus. We anticipate that the process will continue to be followed," Johnson said in an email statement.
