Columbia protest leader detained by federal authorities
Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian refugee raised in Syria and former Columbia University student, was arrested by federal immigration authorities on Saturday following a State Department order to revoke his green card, according to his attorney.
Khalil, who graduated from Columbia last December, was taken into custody from his university-owned apartment near the Ivy League campus in New York.
Immigration authorities detain Khalil amid crackdown on activists
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents entered Khalil’s building and placed him under arrest, his lawyer Amy Greer told AP. Khalil’s wife, who is eight months pregnant, was reportedly not informed of the reason for his detention.
Khalil had played a key role in last spring’s pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia, which were part of nationwide demonstrations against Israel’s war on Gaza. He was selected as a student negotiator in talks with university administrators.
University disciplinary investigation and federal scrutiny
Khalil was also under investigation by Columbia’s newly established Office of Institutional Equity, which was tasked with reviewing students who criticized Israel. Reports indicate that students received disciplinary notices for social media posts and participation in unauthorized protests.
“We have not been able to get any more details about why he is being detained,” Greer told AP. “This is a clear escalation. The administration is following through on its threats.”
According to Greer, an ICE agent initially claimed Khalil was being detained due to his student visa being revoked. However, when informed that he was a permanent resident with a green card, the agent stated that his green card was also being revoked. Khalil has since been transferred to an immigration detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Legal concerns over green card revocation
Under U.S. law, only an immigration court can revoke a green card, not government agencies. However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced plans to revoke visas of foreign nationals deemed to support Hamas or other terrorist organizations, utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to identify individuals.
Columbia University has been a major focus of federal scrutiny. On Friday, the Trump administration announced a $400 million cut in grants and contracts to the university, citing failure to address antisemitism on campus.
Trump administration crackdown on student activism
The arrest comes amid the Trump administration’s intensified crackdown on student activists critical of Israel. President Donald Trump has vowed to deport foreign students and imprison protesters involved in demonstrations against Israel’s war in Gaza.
“They just want to show Congress and right-wing politicians that they’re doing something, regardless of the stakes for students,” Khalil said last week. “It’s mainly an office to chill pro-Palestine speech.”
Columbia’s encampment protests, which began last spring, inspired similar demonstrations across U.S. college campuses. Many universities called in local police to disperse the protests, leading to hundreds of student arrests.
