Federal immigration authorities have arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and former Columbia University student who played a key role in pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus. Khalil, who has been accused of supporting Hamas and participating in unauthorized protests, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at his university-owned apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side on Saturday night, according to his attorney, Amy Greer.
Greer said ICE agents claimed to be acting on a State Department directive to revoke Khalil's student visa. However, she contended that Khalil is a legal permanent resident, not in the country on a student visa. "Last night ICE agents wrongfully arrested Mahmoud Khalil, claiming his student visa was revoked - even though Mahmoud is a legal permanent resident (green card holder) and not in the U.S. on a student visa," Greer stated. "Confronted with that fact, the ICE agents detained him anyway."
The circumstances surrounding Khalil's detention remain unclear. Initially, his attorney was informed that he had been transferred to an ICE facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey. However, when his wife-an eight-months-pregnant U.S. citizen-attempted to visit him there on Sunday, she was told he was not being held at that location. Greer said she has received unconfirmed reports that Khalil may have been transferred to a detention facility in Louisiana.
ONE DOWN!
Hamas supprter Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by ICE and DHS.
The Columbia University student is being deported, and his green card revoked. pic.twitter.com/XnCQaPVNws — Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) March 9, 2025
The arrest is one of the first known actions under President Donald Trump's recent pledge to deport international students involved in anti-Israel demonstrations. The administration has argued that such protesters forfeited their right to remain in the country by supporting Hamas, which the U.S. government designates as a terrorist organization. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reinforced that position in a statement posted to X on Sunday, declaring, "We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported."
Khalil's arrest has drawn sharp criticism from civil rights groups. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) denounced the move as a violation of First Amendment protections. "Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil is a lawful permanent resident of our nation who has not been charged with or convicted of a single crime," the group said in a statement. "The Department of Homeland Security's lawless decision to arrest him solely because of his peaceful anti-genocide activism represents a blatant attack on the First Amendment."
The allegations against Khalil stem from his involvement with Columbia University Apartheid Divest, an activist group advocating for the university to sever financial ties with Israeli institutions. According to university records reviewed by the Associated Press, Khalil was accused of helping to organize an unauthorized protest that included pro-Hamas slogans and of playing a significant role in circulating social media posts critical of Zionism.
"I have around 13 allegations against me, most of them are social media posts that I had nothing to do with," Khalil told the AP last week. "They just want to show Congress and right-wing politicians that they're doing something, regardless of the stakes for students."
Columbia University has not confirmed Khalil's status as a student, though the AP reported that he graduated in December. The school issued a general statement addressing the presence of ICE agents near campus. "There have been reports of ICE in the streets around campus. Columbia has and will continue to follow the law," the university stated on its website. It also reiterated that law enforcement officers must have a judicial warrant to enter non-public university spaces.
The Trump administration has taken an aggressive stance against Columbia University in recent weeks, announcing on Friday that it would cut $400 million in federal funding to the school over what it described as a failure to protect Jewish students from harassment.
