A green card does not offer immigrants an indefinite right to remain in the United States of America (USA), Vice-President JD Vance said yesterday, Thursday, March 13, reigniting debate about the prized cards' validity.

Green cards, technically known as Permanent Resident Cards, allow foreign nationals to live and work in the United States. However, despite its name, "permanent residency" does not guarantee an indefinite stay.

"A green card holder doesn't have an indefinite right to be in the United States," Vance said.

“This is not fundamentally about free speech, and to me, yes, it’s about national security, but it’s also more importantly about who do we as an American public decide gets to join our national community,” Vance said in an interview with “The Ingraham Angle” host Laura Ingraham on Fox News.

He added, “And if the secretary of state and the president decide this person shouldn’t be in America, and they have no legal right to stay here, it’s as simple as that.”

Vance made the remarks in response to the arrest of Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder, who was jailed on Saturday for his role in last spring's protests against the war on Palestine at Columbia University, Business Standard reports.

Khalil's green card had been cancelled by the Trump administration, according to his lawyer, but New York federal Judge Jesse Furman halted any immediate attempt to deport him pending a hearing.

According to the Associated Press, Khalil's lawyer, Amy Greer, said ICE officials initially claimed they were following a State Department decision to cancel his student visa. When she told them Khalil was a permanent resident with a green card, they stated they'd revoke his status instead.