Mahmoud Khalil, a well-known Palestinian activist, was arrested by federal immigration agents on Saturday night. His attorney, Amy Greer, stated that the agents claimed they had orders from the State Department to revoke his green card.
Khalil was at his Columbia University apartment in Manhattan when the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents took him into custody. According to Greer, one of the agents said they were canceling his student visa, but when she pointed out that Khalil is a permanent resident, they mentioned that they were also revoking that.
This incident comes amid a tough stance from the Trump administration towards foreign students. President Trump has expressed intentions to deport individuals who protest against Israel’s actions in Gaza. Recently, the government announced it would cut $400 million in grants to Columbia University, citing a failure to address antisemitism on campus.
Khalil’s wife, who is eight months pregnant, has not been informed of the reasons for her husband’s detention, according to Greer. Khalil has since been moved to an immigration detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Greer emphasized that the lack of information about his detention is troubling and indicates a dangerous escalation.
A spokesperson for Columbia University mentioned that law enforcement needs to show a warrant to enter university property, but did not confirm if a warrant was presented in this case.
Khalil has been a prominent figure in the pro-Palestinian movement at Columbia. He played a key role when students set up a protest encampment on campus last spring and often engaged with university officials. When classes resumed in September, he reiterated that the protests would continue as long as the university benefited from what he described as “Israeli apartheid.”
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