Asked what the Constitution said about this o that, the late Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black would pull out a small pocket-sized copy out of his jacket pocket, and say, “Let’s see what it says.” Born in Alabama, he had been a member of the Klan, served in the Senate, and then as appointed by Roosevelt to the Supreme Court in 1937. He became one of the most outspoken defenders of the Bill of Rights given to all persons,
Accused of ties to Hamas, the U.S. now seeks to deport Indian national Badar Khan Suri, a post-doctoral fellow at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service here on a J-1 visa and examining how to build cooperative societies with religious divisions. He was not part of any demonstration but is married to an American citizen bon in Gaza.
That’s it! Don’t marry someone from Gaza – it’s grounds for getting deported. None of his work or writings are pro-Hamas or pro-terrorist. A Yale scholar, Dr. Helyeh Doutaghi, was abruptly barred from the campus after some AI site linked her to terrorists. The blinds are closing. The First Amendment -- perhaps officials should read it again.
Prayer for the Day
Gracious God, who made a covenant with our ancestors,
We confess that we have not kept our end of the bargain;
Forgetting who we are and what we promised at our Nation’s creation,
May we remember our commitments to you and each other.
Embolden us to be anew people filled with the spirit of justice.
In the name of the One who reflect your spirit of justice,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention. We support our community members’ rights to free and open inquiry, deliberation and debate, even if the underlying ideas may be difficult, controversial or objectionable.
Meghan Dubyak, Georgetown University
The events targeting Dr. Doutaghi speak to an alarming failure by powerful education institutions to stand up for the rights of their students, faculty and staff, in particular those with precarious immigration status. It is the role of universities, particularly those who are so well endowed with financial resources, to stand up as protectors of democracy, the importance of knowledge, the sharing and dissemination of reasoned speech.
Statement signed by 997 American and Canadian scholars
For God has given us not a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1.7