On Friday’s broadcast of Newsmax TV’s “Finnerty,” Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) argued that there probably ought to be deportations beyond the push to deport Mahmoud Khalil and the Trump administration “probably ought to be looking at some people who participated in violent protests, violent Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 and others and get them out of the country.”
After defending the Trump administration’s push to deport Khalil, Schmitt stated, “And, quite frankly, we probably ought to have more deportations. They probably ought to be looking at some people who participated in violent protests, violent Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 and others and get them out of the country. They’re not citizens. They’re not entitled to the same free speech protections. They’re here as guests, and that’s it. And so, I certainly support what the administration’s doing here.”
Schmitt added that Khalil doesn’t have the same protections as a citizen and his actions went well beyond opinion and into illegal activity.
He further stated that “if you’re on a student visa or you’re here on some other guest program, you don’t get just to violate U.S. law and there be no repercussions for it. And so, this went beyond just simple free speech, but if the issue were just free speech, he’s not a U.S. citizen, so it’s a different legal analysis.”
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