Anti-Israel Cornell grad student facing deportation has visa revoked
Momodou Taal, a graduate student at Cornell University and a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and The Gambia, has had his student visa revoked and has been ordered to report for deportation by the Trump administration.
'ICE invites Mr. Taal and his counsel to appear in-person at the HSI Office in Syracuse at a mutually agreeable time for personal service of the NTA and for Mr. Taal to surrender to ICE custody,' the email reportedly stated.
Anti-Israel activist Momodou Taal, a graduate student at Cornell University in New York and a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and The Gambia, has had his student visa revoked and has been ordered to report for deportation by the Trump administration.
Specifically, Taal was told to “surrender to ICE custody” in Syracuse, New York, as noted by The Times of Israel. The notice was sent to Taal and his attorneys in an email sent from Department of Justice attorney Ethan Kanter on Saturday, according to The Washington Free Beacon.
Taal had his visa revoked after suing the Trump administration on March 15 for allegedly targeting anti-Israel activists, The Ithaca Voice reports. However, the outlet also reports that the administration says it revoked his visa on March 14, but that he was not officially notified until March 21.
“ICE invites Mr. Taal and his counsel to appear in-person at the [Homeland Security Investigations] Office in Syracuse at a mutually agreeable time for personal service of the NTA and for Mr. Taal to surrender to ICE custody,” the email reportedly stated.
The Free Beacon has reported that Taal posted insults towards Jews and Zionists on X in 2023, arguing they have “no path forward” and are “chosen for hell.”
“Every single Zionist is a sick sick individual,” Taal posted.
He wrote: “And there can be no path forward except for the complete eradication of Zionism; materially and mentally.” Taal later added, “Zionists are indeed the chosen people… Chosen for hell.”
Taal was previously set to be deported last fall after his involvement in an anti-Israel demonstration at a career fair, during which activists “screamed into bullhorns and banged cymbals, pots and pans, resulting in medical complaints of potential hearing loss,” according to the Cornell administration.
Despite participating in the protest, Taal was initially not suspended, meaning he was temporarily protected from deportation.
Earlier this month, the Cornell University chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine was suspended for protesting an event called “Pathways to Peace,” renaming it “Pathways to GENOCIDE” and critiquing the school for inviting “war criminals” to campus.
On March 10, Cornell was one of 60 universities throughout the U.S. that the Department of Education warned would face consequences if it failed to protect Jewish students on campus.
“The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated in a press release at the time.
Campus Reform has contacted Cornell University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
