ROME: Pope Leo XIV strongly affirmed the rights of the weakest against the ambitions of the powerful during an audience Saturday with refugees from Chagos, a contested Indian Ocean archipelago that is home to a strategic US-UK military base.
History’s first American pope insisted on the right of the Chagossian people to return to their homes and hailed a recent UK-Mauritius treaty over the archipelago’s future as symbolically important on the international stage.
Leo met with a delegation of refugees from Chagos, some 2,000 of whom who were evicted from their homes by Britain in the 1960s and 1970s so the US could build a naval and bomber base on the largest of the islands, Diego Garcia.
Displaced islanders fought for years in UK courts for the right to go home. In May, Britain and Mauritius signed a treaty to hand sovereignty over the islands to Mauritius while still ensuring the future of the base.
Leo told the refugees he was “delighted” that the treaty had been reached, saying it represented a “significant victory” in their long battle to “repair a grave injustice. He praised in particular the role of the Chagossian women in peacefully asserting their rights to go home.
“The renewed prospect of your return to your native archipelago is an encouraging sign and a powerful symbol on the international stage: all peoples, even the smallest and weakest, must be respected by the powerful in their identity and rights, in particular the right to live on their land; and no one can force them into exile,” Leo said in French.
He said he hoped that Mauritian authorities will commit to ensuring their return, and pledged the help of the local Catholic Church.
Under the agreement, the UK will pay Mauritius an average of 101 million pounds ($136 million) a year to lease back the base for at least 99 years. It establishes a trust fund to benefit the Chagossians and says “Mauritius is free to implement a program of resettlement” on the islands other than Diego Garcia. But it does not require the residents to be resettled, and some displaced islanders fear it will be even harder to return to their place of birth after Mauritius takes control.
Mauritius had long contested Britain’s claim to the archipelago, and the United Nations and its top court had urged Britain to return the Chagos to Mauritius, around 2,100 kilometers (1,250 miles) southwest of the islands.
In a non-binding 2019 opinion, the International Court of Justice ruled that the UK had unlawfully carved up Mauritius when it agreed to end colonial rule in the late 1960s.
Pope Francis visited Mauritius in 2019 and met with a group of Chagossians in the Vatican in 2023. Francis told reporters en route home from Mauritius in 2019 that Britain should obey the UN and return the islands to Mauritius.
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Pope meets with Chagos refugees and delivers message about rights of the weak against the powerful
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Pope meets with Chagos refugees and delivers message about rights of the weak against the powerful
- Pope Leo XIV has strongly affirmed the rights of the weakest against the ambitions of the powerful
- He delivered the message during an audience Saturday with refugees from Chagos
Columbia student detained by ICE is abruptly released after Mamdani meets with Trump
- Ellie Aghayeva, an Azerbaijani, hasn’t been publicly linked to any of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations
- Mamdani asked Trump to drop cases against other students facing deportation for their roles in protests against Israel
NEW YORK: Federal immigration authorities arrested a Columbia University student early Thursday, triggering protests on campus along with allegations that agents had entered the university-owned residence under false pretenses.
Just hours after detaining student Ellie Aghayeva, though, the federal government abruptly reversed course, permitting her to walk free after an apparent intervention by President Donald Trump.
In a social media post Thursday afternoon, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he expressed concerns about the arrest during an unrelated meeting with Trump, who then agreed to release her immediately.
“I am safe and okay,” Aghayeva wrote on Instagram, minutes after Mamdani’s post, adding she was in “complete shock” from the experience.
The head-spinning series of events marked the latest development to emerge from the Republican president’s unlikely relationship with a democratic socialist mayor he once threatened to have deported.
On Thursday, while pitching Trump on a massive housing project, Mamdani also called on the president to drop cases against several other current and former students facing deportation for their roles in protests against Israel.
Aghayeva, a senior from Azerbaijan studying neuroscience and politics, hasn’t been publicly linked to any of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations that roiled Columbia’s campus. A self-described content creator, she has amassed a large social media following by sharing day-in-the-life videos and tips for navigating college as an immigrant.
Early Thursday, federal agents gained entry to her apartment by claiming they were searching for a missing person, according to a petition from her lawyers and a statement released by Columbia. She quickly dashed off a message to her more than 100,000 followers on Instagram: “DHS illegally arrested me. Please help.” A photo accompanying the post appeared to show her legs in the backseat of a vehicle.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Aghayeva’s student visa had been terminated in 2016 for failing to attend classes. Inquiries to Columbia about her visa status and how long she had been enrolled in the university were not returned.
In their petition, attorneys for Aghayeva said she had entered the country on a visa in or around 2016. They declined to provide additional comment, including details about her immigration status.
A spokesperson for DHS, Tricia McLaughlin, denied allegations levied by some state officials that agents had gained entry to her apartment by posing as New York City police officers. She didn’t respond to questions about whether they had claimed to be seeking a missing person.
The use of disguises or other misrepresentations by immigration authorities has drawn attention in recent months, after federal agents were seen posing as utility workers and other service employees in Minneapolis and elsewhere.
The practice is legal, in most cases. But immigration attorneys say such ruses are becoming increasingly common, adding to concerns about the Trump administration’s dramatic reshaping of immigration enforcement tactics nationwide.
In recent weeks, Trump has once again intensified his attacks on several universities, including Harvard and UCLA. The arrest would seem to mark the first federal enforcement action against at Columbia since the university agreed to pay more than $220 million to the administration over the summer.
“It’s a horrifying sign that the roving eye of the administration is turning back to Columbia,” said Michael Thaddeus, a mathematics professor at Columbia and vice president of the university’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, which has sued Trump. “The idea that secret police would abduct and imprison students in our midst is something we’d expect from an authoritarian regime.”
Many students and faculty called on Columbia to increase protections for international students following the arrest last March of Mahmoud Khalil, a former graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist, whose deportation case remains ongoing.
In an email to the Columbia community Thursday, acting president Claire Shipman said that residential staff had been reminded not to allow federal law enforcement into university buildings without a subpoena or warrant.
“If you encounter or observe DHS/ICE agents conducting enforcement activities on or near campus, immediately contact Public Safety,” Shipman wrote. “Do not allow them to enter non-public areas or accept service of a warrant or subpoena.”
Just hours after detaining student Ellie Aghayeva, though, the federal government abruptly reversed course, permitting her to walk free after an apparent intervention by President Donald Trump.
In a social media post Thursday afternoon, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he expressed concerns about the arrest during an unrelated meeting with Trump, who then agreed to release her immediately.
“I am safe and okay,” Aghayeva wrote on Instagram, minutes after Mamdani’s post, adding she was in “complete shock” from the experience.
The head-spinning series of events marked the latest development to emerge from the Republican president’s unlikely relationship with a democratic socialist mayor he once threatened to have deported.
On Thursday, while pitching Trump on a massive housing project, Mamdani also called on the president to drop cases against several other current and former students facing deportation for their roles in protests against Israel.
Aghayeva, a senior from Azerbaijan studying neuroscience and politics, hasn’t been publicly linked to any of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations that roiled Columbia’s campus. A self-described content creator, she has amassed a large social media following by sharing day-in-the-life videos and tips for navigating college as an immigrant.
Early Thursday, federal agents gained entry to her apartment by claiming they were searching for a missing person, according to a petition from her lawyers and a statement released by Columbia. She quickly dashed off a message to her more than 100,000 followers on Instagram: “DHS illegally arrested me. Please help.” A photo accompanying the post appeared to show her legs in the backseat of a vehicle.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Aghayeva’s student visa had been terminated in 2016 for failing to attend classes. Inquiries to Columbia about her visa status and how long she had been enrolled in the university were not returned.
In their petition, attorneys for Aghayeva said she had entered the country on a visa in or around 2016. They declined to provide additional comment, including details about her immigration status.
A spokesperson for DHS, Tricia McLaughlin, denied allegations levied by some state officials that agents had gained entry to her apartment by posing as New York City police officers. She didn’t respond to questions about whether they had claimed to be seeking a missing person.
The use of disguises or other misrepresentations by immigration authorities has drawn attention in recent months, after federal agents were seen posing as utility workers and other service employees in Minneapolis and elsewhere.
The practice is legal, in most cases. But immigration attorneys say such ruses are becoming increasingly common, adding to concerns about the Trump administration’s dramatic reshaping of immigration enforcement tactics nationwide.
In recent weeks, Trump has once again intensified his attacks on several universities, including Harvard and UCLA. The arrest would seem to mark the first federal enforcement action against at Columbia since the university agreed to pay more than $220 million to the administration over the summer.
“It’s a horrifying sign that the roving eye of the administration is turning back to Columbia,” said Michael Thaddeus, a mathematics professor at Columbia and vice president of the university’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, which has sued Trump. “The idea that secret police would abduct and imprison students in our midst is something we’d expect from an authoritarian regime.”
Many students and faculty called on Columbia to increase protections for international students following the arrest last March of Mahmoud Khalil, a former graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist, whose deportation case remains ongoing.
In an email to the Columbia community Thursday, acting president Claire Shipman said that residential staff had been reminded not to allow federal law enforcement into university buildings without a subpoena or warrant.
“If you encounter or observe DHS/ICE agents conducting enforcement activities on or near campus, immediately contact Public Safety,” Shipman wrote. “Do not allow them to enter non-public areas or accept service of a warrant or subpoena.”
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