Syracuse, New York - A crowd of supporters gathered in Syracuse Tuesday for a hearing challenging the Trump administration's targeting of pro-Palestine Cornell University doctoral student Momodou Taal.

Taal, who holds Gambian and British citizenship, was not in attendance at the hearing out of fear of his possible arrest.

Late last week, federal officials sent Taal's attorney an email demanding he surrender himself to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Only after was Taal informed his student visa had been revoked on March 14 for supposedly "creating a hostile environment for Jewish students."

The ICE notice came after Taal, along with Professor Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ and PhD student Sriram Parasurama, joined a lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of targeting international students for supporting the Palestine liberation movement. They are seeking an injunction blocking two executive orders seen as the basis for the recent spate of attacks on student protesters.

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"Momodou Taal is a test case to determine whether the government can come to your house and grab you and put you in jail for the things you say criticizing the United States government and its policies," attorney Eric Lee told the crowd gathered outside the courthouse.

"They start with someone who's a noncitizen. They start with someone who's said something the powers that be find it difficult to deal with, that is calling what Israel is doing to the people of Palestine a genocide. But it doesn't end with Momodou Taal; it starts with him. Next it will be you," Lee warned.

Dozens of people rallied outside the court Tuesday holding signs with messages like "Momodou Could Be You" and "Genocide Is Not Self-Defense."

"This crowd, I think the show of support, has been a testament to if you come after one of us, you come after all of us," Parasurama said. "This fight for Momodou is not just for Momodou. It is just as much for every single victim of the American empire."

Jewish faculty, students, and alumni of Cornell have objected to the accusations against Taal in a statement, saying, "While we may hold differing views about Israel and Palestine, we vehemently reject the Trump administration's allegation that Momodou Taal has ever created a 'hostile environment' for Jewish students on campus."

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"In revoking Taal's student visa, surveilling his home, and threatening his right to due process, the administration is once again enacting unconstitutional, anti-immigrant policies on the false pretense of protecting Jewish people, specifically Jewish Cornellians."

Taal's case is just one of several high-profile actions in which the government has sought to detain and deport noncitizen students it claims pose a threat to US foreign policy interests.

Judges have so far blocked the Trump administration from deporting Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, Georgetown University postdoctoral researcher Badar Khan Suri, and Columbia University student Yunseo Chung, all three of whom are facing similar repressive actions due to their support for Palestinian human rights.

Taal is currently receiving donations at Chuffed.org to support his legal defense in a case described as critical to free speech and academic freedom.