Mahmoud Khalil, activist in Columbia student protests, detained by immigration agents

The Associated Press

· Posted: Mar 10, 2025 8:14 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

Federal migration authorities arrested a Palestinian activistic Saturday who played a salient relation successful Columbia University's protests against Israel, a important escalation successful the Trump administration's pledge to detain and deport pupil activists.

Mahmoud Khalil, a postgraduate pupil astatine Columbia until this past December, was wrong his university-owned flat Saturday nighttime erstwhile respective Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents entered and took him into custody, his lawyer, Amy Greer, told The Associated Press.

Greer said she spoke by telephone with 1 of the ICE agents during the arrest, who said they were acting connected State Department orders to revoke Khalil's pupil visa. Informed by the lawyer that Khalil was successful the United States arsenic a imperishable nonmigratory with a greenish card, the cause said they were revoking that instead, according to the lawyer.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, confirmed Khalil's apprehension successful a connection Sunday, describing it arsenic being "in enactment of President Trump's enforcement orders prohibiting antisemitism."

Khalil's apprehension is the archetypal publically known deportation effort nether Trump's promised crackdown connected students who joined protests against the Israel-Hamas warfare successful Gaza that swept assemblage campuses past spring. The medication has claimed participants forfeited their rights to stay successful the state by supporting Hamas.

McLaughlin signalled the apprehension was straight connected to Khalil's relation successful the protests, alleging helium "led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated violent organization."

As ICE agents arrived astatine Khalil's Manhattan residence Saturday night, they besides threatened to apprehension Khalil's wife, an American national who is 8 months pregnant, Greer said.

Lawyer, woman don't cognize Khalil's existent location

Khalil's lawyer said they were initially informed that helium was being held astatine an migration detention installation successful Elizabeth, N.J. But erstwhile his woman tried to sojourn Sunday, she learned helium was not there. Greer said she inactive did not cognize Khalil's whereabouts arsenic of Sunday night.

"We person not been capable to get immoderate much details astir wherefore helium is being detained," Greer told the AP. "This is simply a wide escalation. The medication is pursuing done connected its threats."

A Columbia University spokesperson said instrumentality enforcement agents indispensable nutrient a warrant earlier entering assemblage property but declined to accidental if the schoolhouse had received 1 up of Khalil's arrest. The spokesperson declined to remark connected Khalil's detention.

In a connection shared connected X Sunday evening, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the medication "will beryllium revoking the visas and/or greenish cards of Hamas supporters successful America truthful they tin beryllium deported."

The Department of Homeland Security tin initiate deportation proceedings against greenish paper holders for a wide scope of alleged transgression activity, including supporting a panic group. But the detention of a ineligible imperishable nonmigratory who has not been charged with a transgression marked an bonzer determination with an uncertain ineligible foundation, according to migration experts.

Arrested for 'expressing an opinion'

"This has the quality of a retaliatory enactment against idiosyncratic who expressed an sentiment the Trump medication didn't like," said Camille Mackler, laminitis of Immigrant ARC, a conjugation of ineligible work providers successful New York.

Khalil, who received his master's grade from Columbia's schoolhouse of planetary affairs past semester, served arsenic a negotiator for students arsenic they bargained with assemblage officials implicit an extremity to the structure encampment erected connected field past spring.

The relation made him 1 of the astir disposable activists successful enactment of the movement, prompting calls from pro-Israel activists successful caller weeks for the Trump medication to statesman deportation proceedings against him.

Khalil was besides among those nether probe by a caller Columbia University bureau that has brought disciplinary charges against dozens of students for their pro-Palestinian activism, according to records shared with The Associated Press.

The investigations travel arsenic the Trump medication has followed done connected its menace to chopped hundreds of millions of dollars successful backing to Columbia due to the fact that of what the authorities describes arsenic the Ivy League school's nonaccomplishment to squelch antisemitism connected campus.

The university's allegations against Khalil focused connected his engagement successful the Columbia University Apartheid Divest group. He faced sanctions for perchance helping to signifier an "unauthorized marching event" successful which participants are accused of glorifying Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught and playing a "substantial role" successful the circulation of societal media posts criticizing Zionism, among different acts of alleged discrimination.

"I person astir 13 allegations against me, astir of them are societal media posts that I had thing to bash with," Khalil told The Associated Press last week.

"They conscionable privation to amusement Congress and right-wing politicians that they're doing something, careless of the stakes for students," helium added. "It's chiefly an bureau to chill pro-Palestine speech."