Federal immigration authorities arrested a Palestinian activist who helped lead the anti-Israel encampment at Columbia University and is in the country as a lawful permanent resident, the activist’s lawyer said Sunday.
ICE agents took Mahmoud Khalil into custody Saturday night at a university-owned apartment building near the school’s Manhattan campus, attorney Amy Greer told the Associated Press.
The lawyer said agents were acting on a State Department order to revoke Mr. Khalil’s student visa and green card.
“We have not been able to get any more details about why he is being detained,” Ms. Greer told the AP. “This is a clear escalation. The administration is following through on its threats.”
President Trump threatened last week to jail “agitators” and cut off federal funding to colleges and schools that allowed “illegal protests” to run rampant on American campuses.
“Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came,” Mr. Trump wrote Tuesday on Truth Social. “American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Mr. Khalil was one of the most visible faces involved in Columbia’s anti-Israel encampment last spring, which escalated into students breaking into and occupying a university building.
More than 100 students were arrested in a police raid on the building and the camp was dismantled shortly afterward.
Mr. Khalil was a negotiator on behalf of the students with the Columbia University Apartheid Divest group and often met with school administrators.
Activist organizations in New York City spoke out in defense of Mr. Khalil, saying local elected officials should “intervene in this unlawful and politically motivated detention.”
“This blatantly unconstitutional act sends a deplorable message that freedom of speech is no longer protected in America,” said Murad Awawdeh, the president and CEO of New York Immigration Coalition.
“A green card can only be revoked by an immigration judge, showing once again that the Trump administration is willing to ignore the law in order to instill fear and further its racist agenda,” he said.
Under the law, the Homeland Security Department can start deportation proceedings against green card holders for a broad range of activities, including crimes and providing support for a terror group such as Hamas.
Columbia University has brought disciplinary charges against Mr. Khalil, accusing him of organizing an “unauthorized marching event” that glorified Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israeli civilians.
Mr. Khalil, who graduated from Columbia in December, is being held at an ICE facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey. His wife, a U.S. citizen, is eight months pregnant.
