Sophie Hurwitz

Brooklyn, St. Louis

Reporting Fellow at Mother Jones

Reporter and Fact-Checker at Freelance

golem/dybbuk thought leader, reporting fellow @motherjones || [email protected]

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Articles

Mahmoud Khalil can be deported, immigration judge rules

1 week ago | motherjones.com | Sophie Hurwitz

A Louisiana immigration judge ruled Friday that recent Columbia graduate and Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported—even though Khalil has a green card, is a lawful permanent resident, and has not been charged with any crimes. The judge gave Khalil’s attorneys until April 23 to ask for a stay of the deportation. There is a separate case in federal court in New Jersey still ongoing over whether Khalil’s arrest on March 8th violated his First Amendment rights.
ICE is reportedly violating detained Tufts student’s right to medical care

2 weeks ago | motherjones.com | Sophie Hurwitz |Julia Métraux

In the ten days since Tufts University PhD student Rümeysa Öztürk was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, her lawyers say their client has had three asthma attacks. During that time, according to three Democratic Senators and Öztürk’s lawyers, ICE has not provided the detained student her inhaler, or other medication required by law.
Trump’s Secret Police Are Stalking More and More Students

3 weeks ago | motherjones.com | Sophie Hurwitz

On Tuesday afternoon, a federal judge in New York’s Northern District heard opening arguments in the case of Momodou Taal v. Trump. Neither party was present in the courtroom—in large part because Trump’s Department of Homeland Security has been trying to find Taal for days, reportedly staking out his home and entering his university’s campus.
Israel Is Bombing Gaza Again. Here’s What Doctors Are Seeing On The Ground.

1 month ago | motherjones.com | Sophie Hurwitz

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters. The ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, instituted in mid-January, was always shaky. It could even be argued it never fully existed. Sixteen days ago Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza, prohibiting any food or medical supplies from entering the territory, and cutting off electricity to Gaza’s water desalination plants.
This Florida cinema showed a documentary about Palestine. Now, the mayor could shut it down.

1 month ago | motherjones.com | Sophie Hurwitz

Kareem Tabsch, co-founder of Miami Beach’s O Cinema, loves his hometown. He’s made an award-winning movie about Miami Beach’s historic Jewish community. He has been lauded in his local press for his contributions to South Florida’s artistic culture. And in 2008, he co-founded an arthouse movie theater to give his neighborhood access to independent films that would otherwise pass it by in favor of more lucrative screens elsewhere.
The horrific details of Mahmoud Khalil’s detainment

1 month ago | motherjones.com | Sophie Hurwitz

Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia graduate who is Palestinian, was detained by the Department of Homeland Security almost one week ago. Since then, Khalil, who is in the United States on a green card, has still not been charged with a crime. And representatives from Columbia University remain markedly silent on his case. On Friday morning, the university said the Trump administration sent ICE agents to raid Columbia dorms.
The many misrepresentations of Mahmoud Khalil

1 month ago | motherjones.com | Sophie Hurwitz

Early this week, as Columbia students scrambled to respond to the United States government’s arrest of recent graduate Mahmoud Khalil, a series of logistical hurdles emerged. What would the protesters do if approached by police? What did the fine print of Columbia’s recently-updated public events policy say? What should the group tell the media? As one student told me, there was a grim humor amid the discussion.
Where is Mahmoud Khalil?

1 month ago | motherjones.com | Sophie Hurwitz

Around 8:30 p.m. on March 8th, Mahmoud Khalil, a recent graduate of Columbia and a student leader in last year’s protest encampments, was returning to his University-owned apartment after an iftar meal when he was arrested by Department of Homeland Security agents. Khalil, who is Palestinian, is a legal permanent resident and green card holder, his lawyers say. His arrest marks a dramatic escalation in President Donald Trump’s crackdown on free speech.
Private prison companies set to make billions reopening jails for ICE

1 month ago | motherjones.com | Sophie Hurwitz

Late Wednesday afternoon, the private prison company CoreCivic announced that they would be reopening a notorious family detention center in South Texas, under an amended contract with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Texas facility, first built in 2014, will house up to 2,400 people—including children. It was shut down in June 2024 to save costs, after years of reports suggesting poor treatment, including a report of one toddler who died due to a lack of medical care.
Le classi si svuotano per paura di Trump

1 month ago | internazionale.it | Sophie Hurwitz |Isabela Dias

Il 30 gennaio Sam, un’insegnante di una scuola elementare nell’area di Boston, è entrata in classe e ha notato che un terzo degli studenti era assente. “Ho provato una tristezza infinita”, racconta. “L’immagine della luce del sole che si rifletteva sui banchi vuoti mi ha colpito profondamente”. Il distretto scolastico in cui lavora Sam, a Framingham, è molto vario: per il 37 per cento degli studenti l’inglese non è la lingua madre. Ma il calo delle presenze in quell’istituto non è un caso isolato.