Momodou Taal: Cornell student activist targeted by Trump shares powerful statement as he leaves US
Ithaca, New York - Cornell University doctoral candidate Momodou Taal has chosen to leave the US after a judge declined to immediately block his deportation, as the Trump administration intensifies its crackdown on Palestine student protesters.
"Today I took the decision to leave the United States, free and with my head held high," Taal shared in a statement on X.
"Given what we have seen across the United States, I have lost faith that a favourable ruling from the courts would guarantee my personal safety and ability to express my beliefs," Taal continued. "I have lost faith I could walk the streets without being abducted. Weighing up these options, I took the decision to leave on my own terms."
The British and Gambian dual national was ordered last month to surrender himself to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Only after was he informed his student visa had been revoked on March 14 for supposedly "creating a hostile environment for Jewish students."
Taal, along with Professor Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ and PhD student Sriram Parasurama, filed a lawsuit on March 15 challenging two executive orders by Donald Trump seen as the basis for the administration's escalating attacks on students taking a stand for Palestinian human rights.
A federal judge last week said the plaintiffs had not established that she had jurisdiction over the request for a temporary restraining order to halt Taal's removal proceedings. Also denied was the request for a nationwide injunction pausing enforcement of the two Trump orders.
Taal said, "This is of course not the outcome I had wanted going into this, but we are facing a government that has no respect for the judiciary or for the rule of the law."
Momodou Taal urges continued Palestine solidarity activism
As he departs the US, Taal issued a stark warning to the country he leaves behind.
"For every person that has remained silent, just know that you are not safe either," the Africana Studies doctoral student cautioned. "Is the imprisonment of those who speak out against a genocide a reflection of your values? Is this the kind of nation you want to live in?"
"It is surreal that we live in a world where you get into trouble for saying killing babies is wrong," the 31-year-old wrote. "Where those advocating for, and celebrating, endless massacres against Palestinians are able to, time and again, present themselves as victims while presenting those fighting against genocide as the oppressors."
"For months on end, we've had to listen to – ad nauseam – concerns regarding the safety of Zionist students when they are the same students who dox, monitor and collaborate with law enforcement to target students of color."
"If you have been led to think that your safety is only guaranteed by state kidnap, repression, deportation, the slaughter of children, and the suppression of the global majority, then let Gaza's shards of glass be your mirror."
Cover photo: Screenshot/X/Momodou Taal