Arrest of Columbia student protester sends chill across campus, say faculty

Sheena Goodyear · CBC Radio

· Posted: Mar 12, 2025 5:52 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

The apprehension and threatened deportation of a pupil activistic astatine Columbia University is simply a menace to escaped code connected field and crossed the U.S., says prof Michael Thaddeus.

"It's a precise acheronian time successful the past of the Republic, erstwhile idiosyncratic tin beryllium imprisoned conscionable for exercising their law rights," the Columbia mathematics prof told As It Happens big Nil Koksal. 

"And it seems to beryllium a nakedly wide lawsuit of that."

Thaddeus is 1 of respective module members astatine the New York schoolhouse speaking retired connected behalf of Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents for his relation successful field protests against Israel's subject run successful Gaza.

Khalil, a U.S. imperishable resident, was arrested without complaint astatine his university-owned flat connected Saturday successful beforehand of his large wife, and sent to a detention centre successful Louisiana. 

The apprehension was sparked by an enforcement order, signed by U.S. President Donald Trump, vowing to combat what helium characterized arsenic antisemitism connected field and deport pro-Palestinian pupil protesters, who helium labelled "Hamas sympathizers."

What happened?

Khalil, who is of Palestinian origin, came to the U.S. connected a pupil visa successful 2022 and became a imperishable nonmigratory past year.

Trump alleged connected societal media, without evidence, that Khalil supported the Palestinian militant radical Hamas, thing the activist's lawyers vehemently denied. 

When Khalil was archetypal arrested, the officers threatened to revoke his pupil visa and deport him, his lawyers said. When helium corrected them that he, successful fact, had a greenish card, they said they would revoke that instead.  

A national justice connected Monday temporarily blocked Khalil's deportation portion his lawyers situation the constitutionality of his arrest.

During Khalil's archetypal tribunal proceeding successful New York City connected Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman ruled the activistic indispensable beryllium permitted backstage telephone calls with his lawyers.

One of Khalil's lawyers, Ramzi Kassem, said his lawsuit had been allowed conscionable 1 telephone with his ineligible squad from migration detention successful Louisiana, that it was connected a enactment recorded and monitored by the government, and was chopped disconnected prematurely.

Brandon Waterman, a lawyer for the government, said helium had not been alert of immoderate issues with Khalil's entree to his lawyers but would look into it.

The country extracurricular the courtroom was tense arsenic hundreds of protesters gathered, holding signs speechmaking "Release Mahmoud Khalil" and chanting "Down, down with deportation, up, up with liberation."

Funding cuts to Columbia

Meanwhile, backmost connected campus, representatives from the Columbia section of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) met with the university's interim president Katrina Armstrong.

Thaddeus — who is the vice-president of the Columbia section — says helium and his colleagues pressed Armstrong to enactment Khalil, to nary avail.

"The assemblage medication has been remarkably soundless connected the substance of this arrest," helium said.

The reason, helium suspects, has to bash with money. Already, the Trump medication has suspended $400 cardinal US successful national grants and contracts to Columbia implicit allegations of antiseminism tied to pro-Palestinian protests connected campus.

Thaddeus called the cuts and the apprehension a "two-pronged attack" by the Trump medication against Columbia.

"The national authorities has a batch of leverage implicit us," Thaddeus said.

Nevertheless, helium urged the administration, module members and students to talk out.

"That leverage is going to beryllium exerted connected america nary substance what we do, oregon nary substance what we say," helium said. "So we mightiness arsenic well, you know, basal up and person the courageousness of our convictions."

Columbia University did not respond to aggregate CBC requests for comment.

Other professors and their representatives person besides spoken retired against Khalil's apprehension and the backing cuts, some of which they accidental are causing a chill connected escaped speech and world freedom.

Reinhold Martin, president of the AAUP's Columbia chapter, said successful a connection that the backing cuts person thing to bash with antisemitism, and everything to bash with "crushing dissent and privatizing authorities supported research."

The AAUP called for Khalil's contiguous release. 

English prof Marianne Hirsch, the kid of Holocaust survivors who grew up successful Romania, said Khalil's apprehension brought backmost her "most tormenting puerility nightmares."

"The amerciable detention and threatened deportation of a student, who is simply a greenish paper holder, has made everyone present unsafe," Hirsch said astatine a property league connected Monday.

'Mahmoud is my rock,' says wife

Mahmoud's wife, a U.S. national who is 8 months' pregnant, released a connection done her husband's lawyers. They did not disclose her name. 

"Mahmoud is my rock, helium is my home, and helium is my blessed place," the connection reads.

"For everyone speechmaking this, I impulse you to spot Mahmoud done my eyes arsenic a loving hubby and the aboriginal begetter to our baby. I request your assistance to bring Mahmoud home, truthful helium is present beside me, holding my manus successful the transportation country arsenic we invited our archetypal kid into this world. Please merchandise Mahmoud now."