Detention of Mahmoud Khalil

Mahmoud Khalil was a graduate student at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at the time of the 2024 Columbia University pro-Palestinian campus occupations.{{Cite news |last=Offenhartz |first=Jake |date=March 9, 2025 |title=Immigration agents arrest Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University protests |url=https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-mahmoud-khalil-ice-15014bcbb921f21a9f704d5acdcae7a8 |access-date=March 10, 2025 |work=Associated Press |language=en}} He is an Algerian citizen with permanent residency in the U.S. under the green card program.{{Cite web |last=Stallone |first=Michael |date=March 10, 2025 |title=Who is Mahmoud Khalil? Protests underway for Palestinian Columbia U. graduate arrested by ICE |url=https://www.fox5ny.com/news/nyc-mahmoud-khalil-student-arrested-ice-columbia-university-protests |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250310191137/https://www.fox5ny.com/news/nyc-mahmoud-khalil-student-arrested-ice-columbia-university-protests |archive-date=March 10, 2025 |access-date=March 10, 2025 |publisher=WNYW |language=en-US}}{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Cate |last2=Sacchetti |first2=Maria |last3=Hudson |first3=John |date=March 12, 2025 |title=Marco Rubio Weighs In on Mahmoud Khalil Deportation Case |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/03/12/marco-rubio-mahmoud-khalil-deportation/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250312195912/https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/03/12/marco-rubio-mahmoud-khalil-deportation/ |archive-date=March 12, 2025 |access-date=March 13, 2025 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

Khalil was born in a refugee enclave in Damascus, Syria, in 1995, to Palestinian parents.{{Cite web |last=Contreras |first=Russell |date=March 13, 2025 |title=Documentary featuring Mahmoud Khalil to be released this month |url=https://www.axios.com/2025/03/13/documentary-mahmoud-khalil-columbia-macklemore |access-date=March 14, 2025 |website=Axios |language=en}}{{Cite news |last1=Wilson |first1=Michael |last2=Rothfeld |first2=Michael |last3=Ley |first3=Ana |date=2025-03-16 |title=How a Columbia Student Activist Landed in Federal Detention |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/nyregion/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-university.html |access-date=2025-04-14 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} His grandparents had lived in Tiberias, but were forced to leave in the 1948 Nakba.{{cite news |last1=Bailey |first1=Chelsea |date=March 12, 2025 |title=Who is Mahmoud Khalil? Palestinian activist detained by ICE over Columbia University protests |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/11/us/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-ice-green-card-hnk/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250312000722/https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/11/us/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-ice-green-card-hnk/index.html |archive-date=March 12, 2025 |access-date=March 12, 2025 |work=CNN}} He and his family fled to Lebanon in 2012 after the onset of the Syrian civil war.{{Cite news |last=Bhutani |first=Anvee |date=March 12, 2025 |title=Who is Mahmoud Khalil? The detained Columbia graduate praised as steady negotiator |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/12/who-is-mahmoud-khalil-arrest-palestinian-activist-columbia |access-date=March 14, 2025 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite news |last=Michaelson |first=Ruth |date=2025-03-13 |title=Columbia graduate detained by Ice was respected British government employee |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/13/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-british-government-work |access-date=2025-03-14 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} Khalil has Algerian citizenship through his mother's family, who were allegedly Algerian revolutionaries displaced to the Ottoman Empire.{{cite news |title="First, They Came for Mahmoud Khalil" |url=https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/mahmoud-khalil-journey-refugee-syria-columbia-university |publisher=Drop Site}}

Journalist Lauren Bohn, who met Khalil in Beirut while reporting on the Syrian refugee crisis, said Khalil "often referred to himself as a 'double refugee' as a Palestinian in Syria and a Syrian refugee in Lebanon". Bohn reported that Khalil taught himself English while working with Syrian refugees through the Syrian-American education nonprofit Junsoor. Simultaneously, he earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from the Lebanese American University in Beirut. Khalil then spent years working for the British government's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, managing the Chevening Scholarship from the British embassy in Beirut and supporting diplomats with his language skills and local knowledge.

In 2022, Khalil immigrated to the U.S. on a student visa to attend SIPA.{{Cite news |last=Allen |first=Johnathan |date=March 13, 2025 |title=Exclusive: Wife of detained Palestinian Columbia student says she was naive to believe he was safe from arrest |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/wife-arrested-columbia-student-says-she-was-naive-believe-he-was-secure-2025-03-12/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250313162414/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/wife-arrested-columbia-student-says-she-was-naive-believe-he-was-secure-2025-03-12/ |archive-date=March 13, 2025 |access-date=March 13, 2025 |work=Reuters}} He married his wife, Noor Abdalla, in New York in 2023 after a seven-year long-distance relationship. Abdalla is a U.S. citizen and a dentist. Khalil then received a green card in 2024. The couple met in 2016, when Abdalla joined a volunteer program that Khalil was overseeing in Lebanon. Abdallah was pregnant at the time of his arrest, with a due date in late April 2025. She gave birth on April 21, while he remained in detention in Louisiana. His attorneys had requested a temporary release so that he could be with his wife during their son's birth, but the request was denied.{{Cite web |last=Pazmino |first=Gloria |last2=Musa |first2=Amanda |date=2025-04-22 |title=ICE denies detained Mahmoud Khalil temporary release to meet their newborn son |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/21/us/mahmoud-khalil-denied-ice-release-son-birth/index.html |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=CNN |language=en}}

Khalil completed work on his master's degree in December 2024 and was due to graduate in May 2025. As a student, he interned for UNRWA, a United Nations relief agency that supports Palestinian refugees.

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As a Columbia student, Khalil was involved with activism in solidarity with Palestine during the Gaza war. He served as a negotiator and spokesperson for students associated with the Gaza Solidarity Encampments and the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) coalition in discussions with Columbia officials,{{cite news |last=McCausland |first=Phil |title=Who is Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian activist facing US deportation? |work=BBC News |date=2025-03-12 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgj5nlxz44yo |access-date=2025-03-22}}{{Cite news |last=Svurlga |first=Susan |title=Palestinian protester arrested by ICE despite green card, lawyer says |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/03/09/columbia-arrest-mahmoud-khalil/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250310053549/https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/03/09/columbia-arrest-mahmoud-khalil/ |archive-date=March 10, 2025 |access-date=March 10, 2025 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} and was often seen, unmasked, on the front line of protests.

In a 2024 interview, Khalil said, "As a Palestinian student, I believe that the liberation of the Palestinian people and the Jewish people are intertwined and go hand by hand, and you cannot achieve one without the other." He characterized the movement as one "for social justice and freedom and equality for everyone". Discussing concerns about antisemitism, Khalil said: "There is, of course, no place for antisemitism. What we are witnessing is anti-Palestinian sentiment that's taking different forms, and antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism [are] some of these forms." In an interview with CNN, Khalil said, "the liberation of Palestine and the Palestinians and the Jewish people are intertwined" and that Jewish activists were "an integral part of this movement".{{cite web |title=Government's case against Mahmoud Khalil is reliant on tabloid accounts, review of evidence shows |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/governments-case-mahmoud-khalil-shaky-reliant-tabloid-accounts-review-rcna201254 |access-date=15 April 2025 |publisher=NBC News}}

At the time, Khalil was on a student visa that required full-time enrollment. He said he avoided "high-risk" protests and communicated with the university to ensure he would not create trouble, as any suspension would jeopardize his student visa. On April 30, 2024, he received an email from Columbia suspending him for alleged participation in the Columbia tent encampments, but the university retracted the suspension within a day after reviewing their evidence. Columbia University's president's office called him to apologize for the mistake.{{Cite news |last=Farfan |first=Isa |title=International students risk immigration status to engage in Gaza protests |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/17/international-students-risk-immigration-status-to-engage-in-gaza-protests |access-date=March 14, 2025 |work=Al Jazeera |language=en |archive-date=March 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250310171404/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/17/international-students-risk-immigration-status-to-engage-in-gaza-protests |url-status=live}}

Columbia administrators described Khalil as a principled, good-faith negotiator who worked with them to reduce encampments.{{cite news |last1=Wilson |first1=Michael |last2=Rothfeld |first2=Michael |last3=Ley |first3=Ana |date=March 16, 2025 |title=Mahmoud Khalil's Case Sparks Debate at Columbia University |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/nyregion/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-university.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250316111414/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/nyregion/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-university.html |archive-date=March 16, 2025 |access-date=March 16, 2025 |work=The New York Times}} In September 2024, after new demonstrations began on campus, Khalil said students would continue to protest as long as "Columbia continues to invest and to benefit from Israeli apartheid", and that this might include further encampments or other forms of protest.{{cite news |title=As Columbia resumes classes, student activists vow to carry on with protests against Israel |url=https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-propalestinian-gaza-protests-980e22266c6a6d1c86b670a3d6be655a |access-date=14 April 2025 |publisher=AP News}}

On March 6, 2025, the Associated Press reported that Columbia University's newly created Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) had opened investigations of a number of students to address allegations that they had engaged in anti-Israeli or antisemitic discrimination. Amy Greer, a lawyer advising several students, said that Columbia was bowing "to governmental pressure to suppress and chill protected speech".{{Cite news |last=Offenhartz |first=Jake |date=March 6, 2025 |title=Facing Trump's threats, Columbia investigates students critical of Israel |url=https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-campus-protests-trump-congress-ba0eddec4679d70287202831c52ebed6 |access-date=March 13, 2025 |work=Associated Press |language=en}}

The university's allegations against Khalil focused on his alleged involvement in the Columbia University Apartheid Divest coalition and his alleged role in organizing what the university administration called an "unauthorized marching event", in which some participants purportedly glorified the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, and circulating social media posts critical of Zionism. Khalil told the Associated Press: "I have around 13 allegations against me. Most of them are social media posts that I had nothing to do with". Columbia threatened to block Khalil from graduating for refusing to sign a non-disclosure agreement, but withdrew the threat after Khalil appealed through a lawyer.

{{Main|2024 Columbia University pro-Palestinian campus occupations#CUAD}}

Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) was a coalition of 120+ student organizations at Columbia University that formed after Columbia's administration irregularly banned chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace in November 2023.{{Cite journal |last1=M. |first1=Dasha |last2=Qashou |first2=Luma |last3=Behrangi |first3=Parviz |last4=Reynolds |first4=Caroline |last5=Haddad |first5=Amal |date=2024-07-02 |title=Palestine is the Vanguard for Our Liberation: Insights from the Students' Intifada at Columbia University |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/19436149.2024.2383827 |journal=Middle East Critique |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=487–516 |doi=10.1080/19436149.2024.2383827 |issn=1943-6149}}{{Cite news |first1=Shimon |last1=Prokupecz |first2=Emma |last2=Tucker |first3=John |last3=Miller |first4=Alaa |last4=Elassar |first5=John |last5=Towfighi |date=April 18, 2024 |title=Over 100 people arrested as NYPD breaks up pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University, law enforcement source says |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/18/us/nypd-disperses-pro-palestinian-protest-columbia-university/index.html |access-date=March 17, 2025 |work=CNN |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Mendell |first=Chris |title=Over 80 student groups form coalition following suspension of SJP, JVP |url=https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2023/11/29/over-80-student-groups-form-coalition-following-suspension-of-sjp-jvp/ |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=Columbia Daily Spectator}}{{cite news |date=November 14, 2023 |title=Columbia University Apartheid Divest: Who we are |url=https://www.columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2023/11/14/columbia-university-apartheid-divest-who-we-are/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250310194839/https://www.columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2023/11/14/columbia-university-apartheid-divest-who-we-are/ |archive-date=March 10, 2025 |access-date=March 11, 2025 |work=Columbia Daily Spectator}} CUAD demanded that Columbia stop investing its $14.8 billion endowment in companies supporting Israel's government, dismantle a university outpost in Tel Aviv, and end collaboration with Israeli universities.{{Cite news |last=Markoe |first=Lauren |date=April 26, 2024 |title=Israeli American professor to be honored at Columbia commencement amid campus protests |url=https://forward.com/news/606880/columbia-honorary-degree-israeli-graduation-protests/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240914015824/https://forward.com/news/606880/columbia-honorary-degree-israeli-graduation-protests/ |archive-date=September 14, 2024 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |work=The Forward |language=en}} In referendums, the student bodies at Columbia and affiliated Barnard College voted in favor of these initiatives by large margins.{{Cite web |last=Noxon |first=Oscar |title=Columbia College overwhelmingly passes divestment referendum |url=https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2024/04/22/columbia-college-overwhelmingly-passes-divestment-referendum/ |access-date=2025-03-17 |website=Columbia Daily Spectator}}{{Cite web |last=Vance |first=Shea |title=Barnard student body votes for divestment from Israel with over 90 percent in favor as SGA releases election results |url=https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2024/04/30/barnard-student-body-votes-for-divestment-from-israel-with-over-90-percent-in-favor-as-sga-releases-election-results/ |access-date=2025-03-17 |website=Columbia Daily Spectator}}

CNN and The New York Times reported that CUAD became more "hard-line" in its rhetoric over time.{{Cite web |last=Goldman |first=David |date=2024-10-10 |title='Zionists don't deserve to live,' suspended Columbia activist said. Now his group rescinds its apology and calls for violence |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/09/us/columbia-pro-palestine-group-apology/index.html |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=CNN |language=en}}{{cite news |last=Otterman |first=Sharon |date=October 9, 2024 |title=Columbia Pro-Palestinian Group Faces Scrutiny Over Hamas Comments |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/09/nyregion/columbia-pro-palestinian-group-hamas.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241201123647/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/09/nyregion/columbia-pro-palestinian-group-hamas.html |archive-date=December 1, 2024 |access-date=March 13, 2025 |work=The New York Times}} On October 8, 2024, the group posted that it supported Palestine fighting for "liberation by any means necessary, including armed resistance" and would no longer "pander to liberal media to make the movement for liberation palatable". The Washington Post reported that CUAD had praised Hamas and Hezbollah leadership in online posts.{{cite news |last1=Meckler |first1=Laura |last2=Svrluga |first2=Susan |date=November 10, 2024 |title=Pro-Hamas Protesters Face Backlash on College Campuses |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/11/10/pro-hamas-protesters-college-campuses/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241201123648/https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/11/10/pro-hamas-protesters-college-campuses/ |archive-date=December 1, 2024 |access-date=March 13, 2025 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

Prior to his arrest, Khalil was targeted by an online campaign to have him deported.{{Cite news |last=Shapiro |first=Eliza |date=March 9, 2025 |title=ICE Arrests Pro-Palestinian Activist at Columbia |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/09/nyregion/ice-arrests-palestinian-activist-columbia-protests.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=March 10, 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Far-right Jewish group Betar US posted on Twitter in January 2025 that it had given his information to "multiple contacts" and that ICE was "aware of his home address and whereabouts".{{Cite web |last=Thakker |first=Prem |date=March 10, 2025 |title=SCOOP: Emails Show Mahmoud Khalil Asked Columbia for Protection a Day Before He Was Detained |url=https://zeteo.com/p/scoop-emails-show-mahmoud-khalil-ask-columbia-protection-ice |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250311003016/https://zeteo.com/p/scoop-emails-show-mahmoud-khalil-ask-columbia-protection-ice |archive-date=March 11, 2025 |access-date=March 11, 2025 |website=Zeteo |language=en}} Canary Mission, a pro-Israel doxing website, also compiled a webpage about him. According to an email Khalil sent Columbia President Katrina Armstrong on March 7, the campaign was led by Columbia affiliates Shai Davidai and David Lederer, who had labeled him a "security threat" and called for his deportation. The New York Times said that Davidai "called on Marco Rubio to deport Mr. Khalil". Khalil urged Armstrong and Columbia to "intervene and provide the necessary protections to prevent further harm" and asked for legal support for himself and other international students threatened with deportation.

After Khalil attended a protest at Barnard in early March 2025, Ross Glick, a pro-Israel activist, met with aides to United States Senator John Fetterman and Ted Cruz to discuss Khalil.{{cite news |last1=Rosenfeld |first1=Arno |date=March 10, 2025 |title=Jewish groups targeted Columbia grad Mahmoud Khalil — then ICE arrested him |url=https://forward.com/news/703018/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-cuad-ice/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250311090017/https://forward.com/news/703018/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-cuad-ice/ |archive-date=March 11, 2025 |access-date=March 10, 2025 |work=The Forward}} According to Glick, the aides promised that their respective senators would "escalate" attention to Khalil.

According to Khalil's wife, he was subject to an "intense" campaign in the week before his arrest, when false claims were spread about him.{{cite news |date=March 12, 2025 |title=Former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil to remain detained in Louisiana for now |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/columbia-university-student-mahmoud-khalil-hearing-deportation/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250312104737/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/columbia-university-student-mahmoud-khalil-hearing-deportation/ |archive-date=March 12, 2025 |access-date=March 12, 2025 |work=CBS News}} The day before his detention, Khalil privately reported to Columbia officials incendiary statements that had inspired hateful responses and calls for his deportation, saying, "I haven't been able to sleep, fearing that ICE or a dangerous individual might come to my home". Zeteo reported that these included a "threatening post by the pro-Israel organization Betar in January", in which the group claimed "that he said 'Zionists don't deserve to live'—a statement Khalil 'unequivocally' denied making". The quote came from a different student, who was expelled.

While campaigning for a second term as U.S. president, Trump consistently said he would cancel the visas of international students who take part in pro-Palestinian protests. At a rally on October 16, 2023, he said, "Under the Trump administration, we will revoke the student visas of radical, anti-American and antisemitic foreigners at our colleges and universities, and we will send them straight back home".{{Cite news |last1=Kim |first1=Minho |last2=Savage |first2=Charlie |last3=Wong |first3=Edward |date=March 11, 2025 |title=The U.S. Is Trying to Deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Legal Resident. Here's What to Know. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/us/politics/mahmoud-khalil-legal-resident-deportation.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250311202321/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/us/politics/mahmoud-khalil-legal-resident-deportation.html |archive-date=March 11, 2025 |access-date=March 13, 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

After taking office, Trump signed Executive Order 14188 on January 29, 2025.{{Cite web |date=February 3, 2025 |title=Executive Order 14188, Additional Measures To Combat Anti-Semitism |url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/03/2025-02230/additional-measures-to-combat-anti-semitism |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250310002408/https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/03/2025-02230/additional-measures-to-combat-anti-semitism |archive-date=March 10, 2025 |access-date=March 11, 2025 |website=Federal Register |language=en}} Among other things, the order singles out institutions of higher education and calls for the deportation of students with visas who have broken laws during any anti-Israeli protest since the October 7 attacks.{{cite news |last1=Florido |first1=Adrian |last2=Martínez |first2=A |date=February 6, 2025 |title=Trump executive order aims to deport international students who have protested Israel |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/02/06/nx-s1-5281179/trump-executive-order-aims-to-deport-international-students-who-have-protested-israel |access-date=11 March 2025 |work=NPR |language=en}}

Khalil's arrest occurred during a period of heightened federal scrutiny of Columbia University. The day before the arrest, the Trump administration canceled approximately $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia, citing an alleged failure to protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment on campus. Columbia said it was reviewing the government's actions and remained committed to combating antisemitism while ensuring its community's safety and well-being.{{Cite web |last=Allen |first=Jonathan |title=US immigration agents arrest Palestinian student protester at Columbia University in Trump crackdown |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-authorities-arrest-palestinian-student-protester-columbia-university-students-2025-03-09/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250310014848/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-authorities-arrest-palestinian-student-protester-columbia-university-students-2025-03-09/ |archive-date=March 10, 2025 |access-date=March 10, 2025 |work=Reuters}}{{Cite web |last=Durkee |first=Alison |date=March 10, 2025 |title=Mahmoud Khalil: Trump Admin Doubles Down On Detaining Columbia Pro-Palestinian Activist—What We Know |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2025/03/10/mahmoud-khalil-trump-admin-doubles-down-on-detaining-columbia-pro-palestinian-activist-what-we-know/ |access-date=March 10, 2025 |website=Forbes |language=en}} The administration subsequently wrote to 60 other universities "under investigation for Title VI violations relating to antisemitic harassment and discrimination" to warn them of potential penalties.{{Cite web |date=March 10, 2025 |title=U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights Sends Letters to 60 Universities Under Investigation for Antisemitic Discrimination and Harassment |url=https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-educations-office-civil-rights-sends-letters-60-universities-under-investigation-antisemitic-discrimination-and-harassment |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250313180630/https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-educations-office-civil-rights-sends-letters-60-universities-under-investigation-antisemitic-discrimination-and-harassment |archive-date=March 13, 2025 |access-date=March 13, 2025 |publisher=U.S. Department of Education |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Bender |first=Michael C. |date=March 11, 2025 |title=Trump Officials Warn 60 Colleges of Possible Antisemitism Penalties |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/us/politics/trump-colleges-antisemitism.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250311235226/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/us/politics/trump-colleges-antisemitism.html |archive-date=March 11, 2025 |access-date=March 13, 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

On March 4, 2025, Trump said federal funding would stop for any school "that allows illegal protests", that "agitators" would be imprisoned or deported, and that American students would be expelled or arrested.{{Cite web |last1=Team |first1=CBS New York |last2=Rozner |first2=Lisa |date=March 4, 2025 |title=Trump says any school that "allows illegal protests" will lose funding as Columbia faces review of federal contracts - CBS New York |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/trump-columbia-university-federal-funding/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250311012855/https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/trump-columbia-university-federal-funding/ |archive-date=March 11, 2025 |access-date=March 14, 2025 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}} The U.S. State Department said it would use artificial intelligence to review thousands of student visa holders' social media accounts as well as news reports of demonstrations to identify foreign nationals allegedly engaging in antisemitism as part of new "catch and revoke" policy.{{Cite news |date=March 7, 2025 |title=US to revoke student visas over 'pro-Hamas' social media posts flagged by AI – report |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/06/foreign-student-visas-pro-palestinian-ai |access-date=March 14, 2025 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

At around 8:30 pm on March 8, multiple ICE officers took Khalil from the lobby of his apartment building in Columbia University housing.{{Cite news |last=Otis |first=Ginger Adams |date=March 10, 2025 |title=ICE Arrests Columbia Student Who Helped Lead Pro-Palestinian Protests |url=https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/dhs-detains-columbia-student-who-helped-lead-pro-palestinian-protests-fbbd8196?mod=Searchresults_pos1&page=1 |access-date=10 March 2025 |work=The Wall Street Journal |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Thakker |first=Prem |date=March 9, 2025 |title=DHS Detains Palestinian Student from Columbia Encampment |url=https://zeteo.com/p/breaking-dhs-detains-palestinian |access-date=March 14, 2025 |website=Zeteo |language=en |archive-date=March 14, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250314025819/https://zeteo.com/p/breaking-dhs-detains-palestinian |url-status=live}} Khalil's wife, Noor Abdalla, said that when she and Khalil were returning home from an Iftar dinner, an ICE officer followed them into their building. The agent asked Khalil to confirm his identity, which he did. The officer told Khalil to give his wife the keys to their apartment so that she could go upstairs. When she refused to leave, the officer said, "I will arrest you, too".{{Cite news |last=Sainato |first=Michael |date=2025-03-12 |title=Wife of Columbia graduate student detained by Ice speaks out about his arrest |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/12/columbia-mahmoud-khalil-wife-statement |access-date=2025-03-12 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} Abdalla retrieved Khalil's immigration paperwork from their apartment and gave it to an agent. She says the agent told someone on the phone, "This guy has a green card"; the person on the other end said to "bring him anyway".

Khalil called his lawyer, Amy Greer, from the building's lobby. She spoke over the phone with one of the agents, who told her they were acting on State Department orders to revoke Khalil's student visa. Greer said that when she told the agent Khalil was a permanent resident of the U.S. in possession of a green card, the agent responded that they would revoke the green card instead. Greer said the ICE agents told her they had a warrant.{{cite news |last1=Bromwich |first1=Jonah E. |date=11 March 2025 |title=Judge to Consider Free Speech Issues in Columbia Activist's Arrest |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/nyregion/mahmoud-khalil-hearing-constitution.html |work=New York Times}} When Greer said she needed to see the warrant before Khalil could be detained, the agent hung up.

Abdalla said they were not shown a warrant and that "within minutes, they had handcuffed Mahmoud, took him out into the street and forced him into an unmarked car". A video of the arrest shows the agents refusing to give their names and ignoring Abdallah's requests that they identify the agency they represented or speak to Greer on the phone.{{Cite news |date=2025-03-14 |title=Attorneys for Mahmoud Khalil release video of his arrest |url=https://apnews.com/video/attorneys-for-mahmoud-khalil-release-video-of-his-arrest-4b05368c85c2418aa04d0d1e1155798d |access-date=2024-03-14 |work=AP News}}

A Columbia spokesperson said law enforcement agents must produce a warrant before entering university property, but declined to say whether the university had received a warrant for the ICE agents to access Khalil's building. The spokesperson also declined to comment on the arrest.

On March 9, Greer said she was uncertain of Khalil's whereabouts, but that he could be as far away as Louisiana. Abdalla, who was eight months pregnant, sought to visit him at a detention center in New Jersey, but was told he was not there. Khalil was ultimately detained at the LaSalle Detention Center in Jena, Louisiana.{{cite news |last1=Chappell |first1=Bill |title=Mahmoud Khalil case goes to court, spotlighting green card holders' rights |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/03/11/nx-s1-5323147/mahmoud-khalil-green-card-rights |access-date=13 March 2025 |work=NPR |date=12 March 2025 |language=en}} In a court document, his lawyers later stated he had felt like he was being kidnapped.{{Cite web |last=Neumeister |first=Larry |date=2025-03-14 |title=The Justice Department is investigating whether Columbia University hid students sought by US |url=https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-mahmoud-khalil-ice-arrests-3a8db6e646b786a721089a6f0bc8d9fc |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=AP News |language=en |archive-date=March 14, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250314204904/https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-mahmoud-khalil-ice-arrests-3a8db6e646b786a721089a6f0bc8d9fc |url-status=live }} He dictated an open letter over the phone from detention, saying he was a political prisoner and that the case against him was "part of a broader strategy to suppress dissent" by the Trump administration.{{Cite web |last=El-Fekki |first=Amira |date=2025-03-19 |title=Mahmoud Khalil's letter from detention in full |url=https://www.newsweek.com/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-hamas-gaza-israel-letter-2047002 |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}

On March 18, 2025, a letter Khalil dictated to his family over the phone was released.{{Cite web |last=Khalil |first=Mahmoud |date=2025-03-20 |title=A Letter From Palestinian Activist Mahmoud Khalil {{!}} ACLU |url=https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/a-letter-from-palestinian-activist-mahmoud-khalil#:~:text=My%20name%20is%20Mahmoud%20Khalil,the%20right%20to%20have%20rights? |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=American Civil Liberties Union |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2025-03-19 |title=Mahmoud Khalil: Palestinian Columbia student activist writes about arrest |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd65pp0pe03o |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}} In the letter, he identified himself as a Palestinian political prisoner.{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil calls himself a 'political prisoner' in new letter |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/palestinian-activist-mahmoud-khalil-letter-detention-center/story?id=119929529 |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=ABC News |language=en}} He said he was arrested because he exercised his right to free speech and "advocated for a free Palestine".

On April 4, 2025, the Columbia Daily Spectator, the university's student newspaper, published "A Letter to Columbia", an op-ed Khalil dictated over the phone from detention.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-05 |title=Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil says his ICE arrest was an 'abduction' |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-ice-deportation-rcna199814 |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=NBC News |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Hagstrom |first=Anders |date=2025-04-06 |title=Palestinian protester Mahmoud Khalil excoriates Columbia in op-ed |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/palestinian-protester-mahmoud-khalil-excoriates-columbia-op-ed |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=Fox News |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Team |first=CBS New York |date=2025-04-06 |title=Mahmoud Khalil criticizes Columbia University's response to pro-Palestinian protests, policy changes in op-ed - CBS New York |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-university-op-ed/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}} In it, Khalil addresses the Columbia community, describing his detainment and the circumstances to it.{{Cite news |last=Helmore |first=Edward |date=2025-04-05 |title=Mahmoud Khalil says his arrest was part of ‘Columbia’s repression playbook’ |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/05/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-university |access-date=2025-04-15 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} He describes his detention by plainclothes officers as an abduction and the Trump administration's campaign against international students protesting in solidarity with Palestine as one of intimidation and kidnapping. He criticizes the Columbia trustees, writing: "Faced with a movement for divestment they couldn't crush, your trustees opted to set fire to the institution they're entrusted with." He encourages students and faculty who have not yet done so, or who have done so only performatively or superficially, to join the student movement and build on the momentum gained over the previous year, concluding: "History will redeem us, while those who were content to wait on the sidelines will be forever remembered for their silence."

On April 17, days after Louisiana immigration judge Jamee E. Comans declared Khalil deportable, The Washington Post published an op-ed by Khalil{{Cite news |last=Khalil |first=Mahmoud |date=17 April 2025 |title=Opinion: What does my detention by ICE say about America? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/04/17/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-student-ice-detention/ |work=The Washington Post}} in which he criticized the Trump administration for eroding his rights{{Cite web |last=Hays |first=Gabriel |date=2025-04-18 |title=Mahmoud Khalil rips ‘repressive’ Trump admin for eroding his rights in Washington Post op-ed |url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/mahmoud-khalil-rips-repressive-trump-admin-eroding-rights-washington-post-op-ed |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=Fox News |language=en-US}} and identified with some aspects of the experience Viktor Frankl describes in his 1946 book Man's Search for Meaning, such as "not knowing what fate awaits me; seeing resignation and defeat in my fellow detainees".{{Cite news |last=Cochran |first=Lexi Lonas |date=18 April 2025 |title=Mahmoud Khalil pens op-ed comparing ICE detention to Nazi concentration camps |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5255757-mahmoud-khalil-ice-detention/ |work=The Hill}} Khalil criticized the "breakneck speed" with which his case is being heard and decided, saying that it is running "roughshod over due process".

File:Jesse M. Furman (Judge).jpg (pictured) granted a writ of habeas corpus on March 10.]]

Khalil has not been charged with a crime and is not alleged to have engaged in any activity legally prohibited to U.S. residents.{{cite news |last1=McCausland |first1=Phil |date=March 12, 2025 |title=Who is Mahmoud Khalil, Palestinian student activist facing US deportation? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgj5nlxz44yo |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250312204513/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgj5nlxz44yo |archive-date=March 12, 2025 |access-date=March 12, 2025 |publisher=BBC News}}{{cite news |last1=Betts |first1=Anna |date=March 12, 2025 |title=US government asks court to move case over detention of activist Mahmoud Khalil out of New York |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/12/mahmoud-khalil-hearing-federal-judge |access-date=March 12, 2025 |work=The Guardian}} Authorities have not alleged he provided material support to a proscribed organization. Removal procedures were initiated under section 237(a)(4)(C)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which permits deportation of aliens who are in the country legally if the Secretary of State believes their presence risks "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences".{{Cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Cate |last2=Sacchetti |first2=Maria |last3=Hudson |first3=John |date=2025-03-12 |title=Effort to deport Columbia student rests solely on Rubio determination |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/03/12/marco-rubio-mahmoud-khalil-deportation/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250312185634/https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/03/12/marco-rubio-mahmoud-khalil-deportation/ |archive-date=March 12, 2025 |access-date=2025-03-12 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}} Khalil's attorneys have called this an "obscure" and "rarely used" section of the act.

Greer filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the Southern District of New York very early in the morning on March 9, and the next day Judge Jesse Furman ruled that Khalil could not be removed from the U.S. while the court assessed the case.{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=Spencer |date=2025-03-10 |title=Mahmoud Khalil, SIPA '24, will 'not be removed' from United States until court orders otherwise, U.S. District judge writes |url=https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/03/10/mahmoud-khalil-sipa-24-will-not-be-removed-from-united-states-until-court-orders-otherwise-us-district-judge-writes/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Columbia Daily Spectator}} At a March 12 hearing, the government argued for a change of venue to either New Jersey or Louisiana, where Khalil had been held in detention.{{Cite news |last=Offenhartz |first=Jake |date=2025-03-12 |title=Columbia grad student's detention will stretch on as lawyers spar over Trump's plan to deport him |url=https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-protests-mahmoud-khalil-ice-arrests-751fa0b4637f5600a8af061ba4ddf97b |access-date=2025-03-12 |work=Associated Press |language=en |archive-date=March 12, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250312134503/https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-protests-mahmoud-khalil-ice-arrests-751fa0b4637f5600a8af061ba4ddf97b |url-status=live }} His lawyers asked that he be returned to New York, but Khalil remained detained in Louisiana.{{cite web | title=MSN | website=MSN | date=2025-04-19 | url=https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/us/former-columbia-university-student-mahmoud-khalil-to-remain-detained-in-louisiana-for-now/ar-AA1AKNCp | access-date=2025-04-19}} After hearing that Khalil had not yet been able to have any private conversations with his attorneys, Furman ordered that he be allowed two privileged phone calls with them.{{Cite news |last1=Silva |first1=Daniella |last2=Reiss |first2=Adam |date=2025-03-12 |title=Judge hears arguments on if Mahmoud Khalil should remain detained in Louisiana |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mahmoud-khalil-court-arrest-detention-immigration-green-card-rcna195990 |access-date=2025-03-12 |work=NBC News |language=en |archive-date=March 12, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250312190220/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mahmoud-khalil-court-arrest-detention-immigration-green-card-rcna195990 |url-status=live }}

On March 13, attorneys for Khalil filed an amended petition for writ of habeas corpus, adding Trump, Rubio, and others as respondents.{{Cite news |last1=Helsel |first1=Phil |last2=Atkins |first2=Chloe |date=2025-03-14 |title=New Mahmoud Khalil complaint names Trump and Rubio, and alleges 'targeted, retaliatory detention' |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-mahmoud-khalil-complaint-names-trump-rubio-alleges-targeted-retali-rcna196378 |access-date=2025-03-14 |work=NBC News |language=en}} On March 19, Furman ruled that the case would be transferred to New Jersey, where Khalil was held in detention at the time the initial habeas corpus petition was filed.{{Cite news |last=Bromwich |first=Jonah E. |date=2025-03-19 |title=Judge Says Khalil's Deportation Case Can Be Heard in New Jersey |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/nyregion/mahmoud-khalil-deportation-case-new-jersey.html |access-date=2025-03-19 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Later that day, the case was assigned to Judge Michael E. Farbiarz, who ordered sua sponte that the government not remove Khalil from the country pending further order of the court.{{cite web|url=http://www.rae-chorze-fwaz.com/Michael_E_Farbiarz.pdf|last=Farbiarz|first=Michael|title=Khalil v Joyce et.al.|publisher=United States District Court for the District of New Jersey|date=March 19, 2025|accessdate=March 19, 2025}} On April 1, Farbiarz rejected the government's request to move the habeas corpus case to Louisiana or dismiss it.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-01 |title=Federal judge rules Columbia grad Mahmoud Khalil's legal case to stay in New Jersey |url=https://abc7ny.com/post/columbia-graduate-detained-federal-judge-rules-case-mahmoud-khalil-stay-nj/16116504/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=ABC7 New York |language=en}}

{{Infobox court case

| name = Matter of Khalil

| court = LaSalle Immigration Court in Jena, Louisiana, Executive Office for Immigration Review

| date decided = April 11, 2025

| judges = Jamee E. Comans

| number of judges = 1

| italic title = no

| opinions = The United States can deport Khalil under section 237(a)(4)(C)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952.

| appealed to = Board of Immigration Appeals

}}

Khalil also faces separate proceedings before an immigration judge in Louisiana. His first hearing was scheduled for March 27. The government filed additional allegations in that case, telling the court that Khalil had willfully failed to disclose material information when he applied for a green card in 2024: his internship with UNRWA, his having worked for the British embassy in Beirut beyond 2022, and his association with Columbia University Apartheid Divest.{{Cite news |last=Bromwich |first=Jonah E. |date=2025-03-23 |title=Trump Administration Lodges New Accusations Against Mahmoud Khalil |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/23/nyregion/mahmoud-khalil-trump-allegations.html |access-date=2025-03-24 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Khalil appeared before the immigration judge on March 21, and at his lawyer's request, the judge postponed his hearing to April 8.{{Cite web |last=Cline |first=Sara |date=2025-03-21 |title=Detained Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil appears in immigration case |url=https://apnews.com/article/columbia-protests-immigration-detention-mahmoud-khalil-755774045e5e82849e3281e8ff72f26d |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=AP News |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Immigration Judge Rules Khalil Can Be Deported, but Legal Hurdles Remain |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/11/nyregion/khalil-jena-deportation-ruling.html |access-date=20 April 2025 |publisher=New York Times}}

On April 8, Khalil had an immigration hearing at the LaSalle Immigration Court in Jena, Louisiana, with Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Jamee E. Comans. In the hearing, Comans said she might order Khalil's release unless the government provided Khalil's lawyers with evidence that he was removable within 24 hours. She also set another hearing for April 11, giving Khalil's lawyers time to respond. During the hearing, a dozen allegations were levied against Khalil, including that he withheld information from the Department of Homeland Security about his alleged membership in CUAD, and that his "presence or activities in the United States would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences". Khalil's lawyer responded "deny" to each allegation.{{cite news |last1=Garcia |first1=Armando |last2=El-Bawab |first2=Nadine |date=2025-04-08 |title=Judge gives Trump administration 24 hours to provide evidence of Mahmoud Khalil's removability |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-trump-administration-24-hours-provide-evidence-mahmoud/story?id=120610831 |access-date=8 April 2025 |publisher=ABC News}}{{cite news |title=Immigration judge to rule Friday on possible release of detained Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/08/columbia-activist-mahmoud-khalil-ruling-00279599 |access-date=8 April 2025 |publisher=Politico}}{{cite news |title=Judge gives Trump administration deadline to justify Mahmoud Khalil's deportation |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/08/mahmoud-khalil-deportation-judge-deadline-trump |access-date=9 April 2025 |work=The Guardian}}

On April 10, despite having been ordered to provide Khalil's lawyers with the evidence against him, the government submitted only a two-page memo from Rubio stating that Khalil's presence in the U.S. undermines "U.S. policy to combat anti-Semitism around the world and in the United States, in addition to efforts to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence in the United States".{{Cite web |last=Offenhartz |first=Jake |date=2025-04-10 |title=Pressed for evidence against Mahmoud Khalil, government cites its power to deport people for beliefs |url=https://apnews.com/article/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-university-trump-c60738368171289ae43177660def8d34 |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=AP News |language=en}} The memo did not allege that Khalil had done anything illegal. Instead, it stated that Khalil should be deported due to "past, current, or expected beliefs, statements, or associations that are otherwise lawful", citing Khalil's having taken part in "antisemitic protests and disruptive activities".{{cite news |last1=Voreacos |first1=David |title=Columbia Activist Can Be Deported for His Beliefs, Rubio Says |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-10/columbia-activist-can-be-deported-for-his-beliefs-rubio-says |access-date=April 10, 2025 |work=Bloomberg |date=April 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250410233350/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-10/columbia-activist-can-be-deported-for-his-beliefs-rubio-says |archive-date=April 10, 2025}}

Khalil's attorneys responded that he was being targeted for his speech, and that they would ask the judge to allow them to question Rubio about his claims.{{Cite news |last=Bromwich |first=Jonah E. |date=2025-04-10 |title=Mahmoud Khalil's Lawyers Will Seek Testimony From Marco Rubio |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/nyregion/khalil-rubio-testimony-deportation.html |access-date=2025-04-11 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

On April 11, Comans ruled that Khalil is deportable under Rubio's assertion that his continued presence poses a risk of an "adverse foreign policy consequence". She said she had no authority to question that determination. She gave Khalil's lawyers a deadline of April 23 to file applications to stop his deportation and said she would file an order of removal to either Syria or Algeria if they failed to meet the deadline.{{Cite news |last=Florido |first=Adrian |date=2025-04-11 |title=Judge rules Mahmoud Khalil can be deported |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/04/11/nx-s1-5361208/mahmoud-khalil-deported-judge-rubio-antisemitism-immigration-court |access-date=2025-04-11 |work=NPR |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Judge rules Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported from US |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-decides-columbia-activist-mahmoud-khalil-deported-us/story?id=120726623 |access-date=11 April 2025 |publisher=ABC News}}

In addition to Amy Greer, Khalil's legal representation in his habeas corpus case includes attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union, Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility (CLEAR), and the Center for Constitutional Rights.{{Cite web |last=Hogan |first=Gwynne |date=2025-03-12 |title=Mahmoud Khalil Supporters Throng Court as Civil Rights Lawyers Plead His Case |url=https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/03/12/mahmoud-khalil-palestinian-columbia-university-deportation-immigration/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250313174812/https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/03/12/mahmoud-khalil-palestinian-columbia-university-deportation-immigration/ |archive-date=March 13, 2025 |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=The City |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last1=Martínez-Beltrán |first1=Sergio |last2=Florido |first2=Adrian |date=2025-03-12 |title=Federal judge hears challenge to Mahmoud Khalil's detention |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/03/12/nx-s1-5325754/federal-judge-hears-challenge-to-mahmoud-khalil-detention-columbia-pro-palestinian |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250313004937/https://www.npr.org/2025/03/12/nx-s1-5325754/federal-judge-hears-challenge-to-mahmoud-khalil-detention-columbia-pro-palestinian |archive-date=March 13, 2025 |access-date=2025-03-14 |work=NPR |language=en}} CLEAR is a legal aid group at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law.{{Cite web |date=2023-04-06 |title=About CLEAR |url=https://www.cunyclear.org/about |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility |language=en-US}} His lawyers are seeking his release while the federal and immigration court cases continue; the government opposes this. He is represented by Marc Van Der Hout and Johnny Sinodis in his immigration case in Louisiana.

Government officials have informally accused Khalil of leading "activities aligned to Hamas".{{cite news |last1=Narea |first1=Nicole |title=The arrest of a pro-Palestinian immigrant should worry every American |url=https://www.vox.com/politics/403454/mahmoud-khalil-palestinian-student-columbia-trump |access-date=March 12, 2025 |work=Vox |date=March 11, 2025 |archive-date=March 12, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250312012227/https://www.vox.com/politics/403454/mahmoud-khalil-palestinian-student-columbia-trump |url-status=live }} The government has not publicly provided any evidence of this claim, which Khalil denies. His attorneys have called it "false and preposterous".{{cite news |last1=Najjar |first1=Farah |title=Mahmoud Khalil arrest: Can the US deport a green card holder? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/12/mahmoud-khalil-arrest-can-the-us-deport-a-green-card-holder |access-date=March 12, 2025 |publisher=Al Jazeera English |date=March 12, 2025 |archive-date=March 13, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250313014035/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/12/mahmoud-khalil-arrest-can-the-us-deport-a-green-card-holder |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Rose |first1=Joel |title=Following arrest of pro-Palestinian activist, White House says more arrests coming |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/03/12/nx-s1-5324754/following-arrest-of-pro-palestinian-activist-white-house-says-more-arrests-coming |access-date=March 12, 2025 |publisher=NPR |date=March 12, 2025}} White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also alleged Khalil distributed flyers with a Hamas logo; as of mid-March, neither Leavitt nor ICE had publicly provided proof of the existence of such flyers, though Leavitt said the flyers were being stored on or inside her desk.{{cite news |last1=El-Bawab |first1=Nadine |title=White House allegedly asked for updates on arrest of activist Mahmoud Khalil, his attorney says |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/white-house-allegedly-asked-updates-arrest-activist-mahmoud/story?id=119811712 |access-date=March 14, 2025 |work=ABC News |date=March 15, 2025|quote=The Trump administration has claimed that Khalil distributed "pro-Hamas propaganda fliers with the logo of Hamas," without providing evidence. "I have those fliers on my desk, they were provided to me by the Department of Homeland Security," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.}}{{cite news |last1=Souza |first1=Sabrina |title=White House says DHS is using intelligence to identify student protesters following Mahmoud Khalil's arrest |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/11/us/mahmoud-khalil-arrest-dhs-intelligence-protestors/index.html |access-date=March 12, 2025 |publisher=CNN |date=March 11, 2025}} Khalil's lawyers deny that he distributed such flyers.

The Trump administration defended its actions, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing plans to revoke more people's visas or green cards.{{Cite news |last=Sainato |first=Michael |date=2025-03-10 |title=Rubio and homeland security confirm arrest of Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia protests |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/10/palestinian-activist-columbia-arrest-ice |access-date=2025-03-10 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

Department of Homeland Security deputy secretary Troy Edgar defended the detention. When asked to explain what conduct merited Khalil's removal from the U.S., and specifically how Khalil had supported Hamas, Edgar said, "I think if he would have declared he's a terrorist, we would have never let him in", repeatedly referring to Khalil as a visa-holder despite having been corrected that he is a legal permanent resident.{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Michel |date=March 13, 2025 |title=DHS official defends Mahmoud Khalil arrest, but offers few details on why it happened |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/03/13/nx-s1-5326015/mahmoud-khalil-deportation-arrests-trump |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250313173601/https://www.npr.org/2025/03/13/nx-s1-5326015/mahmoud-khalil-deportation-arrests-trump |archive-date=March 13, 2025 |access-date=March 13, 2025 |work=NPR}}{{cite news |last1=Conley |first1=Julia |title=DHS Official Explicitly Equates Protest to Terrorism in 'Stunning' Interview |url=https://www.commondreams.org/news/deportation-protest |access-date=March 13, 2025 |publisher=Common Dreams |date=March 13, 2025}} ICE executive associate director for enforcement and removal operations Tom Homan said Khalil is a national security threat.{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/pro-palestinian-activist-mahmoud-khalil-expected-court-after/story?id=119704821|title=Border czar calls detained Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil a 'national security threat'|publisher=ABC|date=March 12, 2025}}{{Cite web|url=https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2025/03/12/tom-homan-albany-visit-escalates-tension-over-immigration-policy|title='Border czar' Tom Homan Albany visit escalates White House attack on New York immigration policies|publisher=Spectrum News 1 Central New York|date=March 12, 2025}}

An NBC News analysis of documents related to the case found that the government relied on unverified tabloid journalism and made "clearly erroneous" claims about Khalil's work history.

Section 237(a)(4)(C)(i) of the Cold War-era Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA) provides that a foreign national can be deported if the Secretary of State believes their presence risks "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences".

In Massieu v. Reno (1996), the most recent case to address this provision of the INA, U.S. district court Judge Maryanne Trump Barry found it unconstitutional.{{Cite journal |last=Nash (Leich) |first=Marian |date=1996 |title=Contemporary Practice of the United States Relating to International Law |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/2954186 |journal=American Journal of International Law |volume=90 |issue=3 |pages=442–455 |doi=10.2307/2204070 |issn= |jstor=2204070 }}{{efn|Section 237 was initially numbered 241.{{Cite web |title=8 USC 1231: Detention and removal of aliens ordered removed |url=https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title8-section1231&num=0&edition=prelim |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=US Code, House of Representatives |archive-date=February 23, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250223155949/http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title8-section1231&num=0&edition=prelim |url-status=live }}}} She ruled that it violated due process by denying aliens a meaningful opportunity to challenge charges, was unconstitutionally vague by failing to clearly define prohibited conduct, and unconstitutionally delegated "wholly unguided and unreviewable discretion" over deportations to the Secretary of State. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals later reversed Barry's decision without addressing the constitutionality question, ruling that the alien must exhaust the immigration court process before seeking relief in district court.{{cite magazine |last=Chotiner |first=Isaac |date=March 12, 2025 |title=Mahmoud Khalil's Constitutional Rights and the Power of ICE |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/mahmoud-khalils-constitutional-rights-and-the-power-of-ice |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250314144711/https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/mahmoud-khalils-constitutional-rights-and-the-power-of-ice |archive-date=March 14, 2025 |access-date=March 17, 2025 |magazine=The New Yorker |publisher=Condé Nast}}

In Matter of Ruiz-Massieu (1999), the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) ruled that the Secretary of State's determination of deportability under the statute is presumptively valid if it is "facially reasonable" and based on a bona fide foreign policy concern, but that, as an Article I tribunal, the board could not address the constitutional issue.{{Cite web |last=Fishman |first=George |date=2025-03-12 |title=Is It Constitutional to Deport the Ringleader of Columbia University's Pro-Hamas Demonstrations? |url=https://cis.org/Fishman/It-Constitutional-Deport-Ringleader-Columbia-Universitys-ProHamas-Demonstrations |access-date=2025-03-12 |publisher=Center for Immigration Studies |language=en}} Article I rulings are not binding on Article III courts.{{Cite web |last1=Harrington |first1=Ben |last2=Sheffner |first2=Daniel J. |date=2021-10-01 |title=Informal Administrative Adjudication: An Overview |url=https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R46930 |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=Congressional Research Service}} The BIA decision noted that Congress created a higher standard for deportation if the basis for deporting the alien is "solely on the grounds of beliefs, statements, or associations which would be lawful if performed within the United States". In such cases, the Secretary must determine that the defendant's presence would damage a "compelling" U.S. foreign policy interest, a higher standard than deportation based merely on the person's presence itself.Interim Decision #3400, In re Mario Salvador Ruiz-Massieu, File A74 163 285 - Newark, U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review, Board of Immigration Appeals, June 10, 1999. https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2014/07/25/3400.pdf.Peter Margulies and David A. Martin, *The Khalil Case and the Difference Lawful Permanent Resident Status Makes*, The Lawfare Institute, March 25, 2025. https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-khalil-case-and-the-difference-lawful-permanent-resident-status-makes.

Just Security wrote that in Bridges v. Wixon (1945), the Supreme Court protected Australian union organizer Harry Bridges from being deported for his pro-labor speech, holding that the First Amendment was applicable to aliens.{{Cite web |last1=Arulanantham |first1=Ahilan |last2=Cox |first2=Adam |date=2025-03-12 |title=Explainer on First Amendment and Due Process Issues in Deportation of Pro-Palestinian Student Activist(s) |url=https://www.justsecurity.org/109012/legal-issues-deportation-palestinian-student-activists/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250314112637/https://www.justsecurity.org/109012/legal-issues-deportation-palestinian-student-activists/ |archive-date=March 14, 2025 |access-date=2025-03-15 |website=Just Security |language=en-US |quote=The Supreme Court long ago stated, without qualification, that “[f]reedom of speech and of press is accorded aliens residing in this country.” The case in which the Court made this statement, Bridges v. Wixon, concerned an Australian union organizer who lived much of his life in Southern California. ... in [no subsequent case] has the Court walked back its statement that noncitizens living in the United States are protected by the First Amendment.}} In Harisiades v. Shaughnessy (1952), the Supreme Court allowed deportations of aliens involved in communist groups, though it read First Amendment protections narrowly instead of rejecting their applicability. The court has never recanted its statement that the First Amendment protects aliens. Citing these cases, Nadine Strossen said that the constitutional issues relating to immigrants' First Amendment rights are complex and not easily resolvable in cases like Khalil's.{{Cite web |last=Nicastro |first=Jack |date=2025-03-10 |title=Is it constitutional to deport immigrants for political speech? |url=https://reason.com/2025/03/10/is-it-constitutional-to-deport-immigrants-for-political-speech/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250314073857/https://reason.com/2025/03/10/is-it-constitutional-to-deport-immigrants-for-political-speech/ |archive-date=March 14, 2025 |access-date=2025-03-15 |website=Reason |language=en-US |quote=Strossen points to decades of legal precedent and case law to describe the complexity surrounding the constitutionality of the 'catch and revoke' policy. In support of immigrants' First Amendment rights is Justice Frank Murphy's concurring opinion in the 1945 case, Bridges v. Wixon... However, the Supreme Court ruled in 1952 that legal aliens could be deported for membership in the Communist Party without violating the First Amendment in Harisiades v. Shaughnessy. The decision was made at a time when 'the First Amendment didn't protect the right of American citizens to espouse terrorism'...}} Ilya Somin argued that the First Amendment was intended to limit government's conduct rather than to grant a right to a special class (such as green card holders).{{Cite web |last=Soave |first=Robby |date=2025-03-13 |title=Mahmoud Khalil is an easy call |url=https://reason.com/2025/03/13/mahmoud-khalil-is-an-easy-call/ |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=Reason |language=en-US |quote="The First Amendment's protection for freedom of speech, like most constitutional rights, is not limited to US citizens," [Somin] writes. "The text of the First Amendment is worded as a general limitation on government power, not a form of special protection for a particular group of people, such as US citizens or permanent residents."}}

Five free speech groups—Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, The Rutherford Institute, the First Amendment Lawyers Association, the National Coalition Against Censorship, and PEN America—filed an amicus brief arguing that the law under which the Trump administration is attempting to deport Khalil is unconstitutional and asking for a preliminary injunction.{{Cite web |last=Sullum |first=Jacob |date=2025-03-24 |title=FIRE says the law Trump is using to deport Mahmoud Khalil is unconstitutional. Trump's sister agreed. |url=https://reason.com/2025/03/24/fire-says-the-law-trump-is-using-to-deport-mahmoud-khalil-is-unconstitutional-trumps-sister-agreed/ |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=Reason.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last= |date=2025-03-20 |title=FIRE and civil liberties groups challenge 'unconstitutional retaliation' against Mahmoud Khalil |url=https://www.thefire.org/news/fire-and-civil-liberties-groups-challenge-unconstitutional-retaliation-against-mahmoud-khalil |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression |language=en}} Over 150 immigration law scholars filed another amicus brief calling Rubio's use of this section of the INA "unprecedented".{{Cite web |last=Lartey |first=Jamiles |date=2025-04-05 |title=Are People Who Aren't Citizens Protected by the First Amendment? |url=https://www.themarshallproject.org/2025/04/05/visa-immigration-first-amendment-protest-speech |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=The Marshall Project |language=en}}

Greg Chen and Amy Grenier of the American Immigration Lawyers Association have noted that use of this section of the INA requires Rubio to notify Congress of the "facially reasonable and bona fide reasons" that someone is a security threat.

On March 13, the New York chapter of the Council on American–Islamic Relations said it was suing Columbia and the House of Representatives Committee on Education and Workforce on grounds related to Columbia's sharing of student records with the committee. The suit was filed on behalf of Khalil and several other students.See:

• {{Cite web |last1=Burke |first1=Minyvonne |last2=Lavietes |first2=Matt |date=2025-03-13 |title=Nearly 100 protesters arrested after sit-in at Trump Tower in NYC to demand release of Mahmoud Khalil |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/protesters-take-trump-tower-nyc-demand-release-mahmoud-khalil-rcna196265 |access-date=2025-03-13 |publisher=NBC News |language=en |archive-date=March 13, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250313190345/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/protesters-take-trump-tower-nyc-demand-release-mahmoud-khalil-rcna196265 |url-status=live }}
• {{Cite web |date=2025-03-13 |title=CAIR-NY, CAIR, Dratel and Lewis Announce Lawsuit on Behalf of Mahmoud Khalil, Others Against House Committee and Columbia U for Compelled Disclosure of Private Student Records |url=https://www.cair.com/press_releases/breaking-cair-ny-cair-dratel-and-lewis-announce-lawsuit-on-behalf-of-mahmoud-khalil-others-against-house-committee-and-columbia-u-for-compelled-disclosure-of-private-student-records/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |publisher=Council on American–Islamic Relations |language=en-US}}
• {{Cite web |date=2025-02-13 |title=February 13, 2025 letter from Tim Walberg, Chair of the US House Committee on Education and Workforce, to Columbia University |url=https://edworkforce.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2.13.25_columbia_letter.pdf |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=US House Committee on Education and Workforce}} On March 20, Judge Arun Subramanian enjoined Columbia from sharing any records, pending a hearing.{{Cite news |last=Lonas Cochran |first=Lexi |date=2025-03-20 |title=Judge tells Columbia not to give House GOP student data until after Tuesday hearing |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5206387-judge-columbia-university-house-gop-education-committee-student-protests-mahmoud-khalil/ |access-date=2025-03-20 |work=The Hill}}

On March 24, several victims of the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel in 2023 sued four organizations associated with the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia: Within Our Lifetime – United for Palestine, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, Columbia–Barnard Jewish Voice for Peace, and Columbia University Apartheid Divest. Several students described as the organizations' leaders, including Khalil, were named as defendants. The suit alleges that the defendants coordinated with Hamas, served as its "propaganda arm", and had foreknowledge of the Hamas-led attack in 2023.{{Cite news |last=Stempel |first=Jonathan |date=2025-03-24 |title=Lawsuit Says Palestinian Advocates at Columbia University Further Hamas' Propaganda |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/lawsuit-says-palestinian-advocates-columbia-university-further-hamas-propaganda-2025-03-25/ |access-date=2025-03-25 |work=Reuters}}{{Cite web |last=Starr |first=Michael |date=2025-03-25 |title=Anti-Israel groups aided Hamas on campus, knew of attack beforehand, Oct. 7 victims say in lawsuit |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-847484 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250325082846/https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-847484 |archive-date=2025-03-25 |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=The Jerusalem Post |language=en |quote=Leading US-based anti-Israel activist groups, including Columbia University Apartheid Divest and Within Our Lifetime, and heads like Mahmoud Khalil had prior knowledge of the October 7 Massacre [...]}} A National Jewish Advocacy Center attorney denied that the deportation order had influenced the lawsuit's timing.{{Cite web |last=Cohen |first=Benyamin |date=2025-03-25 |title=Oct. 7 victims sue Columbia student groups and protest leaders, alleging Hamas support |url=https://forward.com/fast-forward/707269/columbia-sjp-cuad-mahmoud-khalil-lawsuit/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250328014704/https://forward.com/fast-forward/707269/columbia-sjp-cuad-mahmoud-khalil-lawsuit/ |archive-date=2025-03-28 |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=The Forward |language=en |quote=Arielle Klepach, an attorney with the National Jewish Advocacy Center, said Khalil had drawn attention from their legal team 'because of his leadership role' in campus protests—scrutiny that predated his detention by immigration authorities.}}

File:Mahmoud Khalil NYC detention protest 085.jpg

Khalil's arrest has been criticized by groups such as the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Amnesty International,{{cite web |title=Release Mahmoud Khalil! |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/petition/release-mahmoud-khalil/ |website=amnesty.org |publisher=Amnesty International |access-date=March 20, 2025}} the American Civil Liberties Union, the California Faculty Association,{{cite web |title=CFA Statement Demanding Release of Mahmoud Khalil and on Attacks on Free Speech and Academic Freedom |url=https://www.calfac.org/cfa-statement-demanding-release-of-mahmoud-khalil-and-on-attacks-on-free-speech-and-academic-freedom/ |website=calfac.org |date=March 21, 2025 |publisher=California Faculty Association |access-date=March 21, 2025}} the First Amendment Coalition,{{cite news |last1=Toledo |first1=Aldo |date=March 10, 2025 |title=Mahmoud Khalil arrest: Bay Area critics say detention of pro-Palestinian activist is 'a move toward fascism' |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/mahmoud-khalil-bay-area-critics-slam-arrest-20213839.php |access-date=March 10, 2025 |work=San Francisco Chronicle}} the Center for Constitutional Rights,{{cite news |last1=Gregorian |first1=Dareh |title=Arrest of Mahmoud Khalil raises legal questions around deporting legal permanent residents |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/can-mahmoud-khalil-deported-green-card-rcna195694 |access-date=March 11, 2025 |publisher=NBC News |date=March 11, 2025}} and Writers Against the War on Gaza;{{cite news |last1=González-Ramírez |first1=Andrea |title=ICE Arrests Palestinian Student-Protest Leader at Columbia |url=https://www.thecut.com/article/who-is-mahmoud-khalil-ice-arrests-columbia-graduate.html |access-date=March 10, 2025 |work=New York |date=March 10, 2025 |archive-date=March 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250310165124/https://www.thecut.com/article/who-is-mahmoud-khalil-ice-arrests-columbia-graduate.html |url-status=live }} and individuals including Michael Thaddeus,{{cite news |last1=Florido |first1=Adrian |title=Arrest of pro-Palestinian protester shows escalation in Trump deportation efforts |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/03/10/nx-s1-5323166/arrest-green-card-palestinian-protest |access-date=March 10, 2025 |publisher=NPR |date=March 10, 2025}} Zohran Mamdani,{{cite news |last1=Betts |first1=Anna |title='Reeks of McCarthyism': outrage after Ice detains Palestinian student activist |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/10/palestinian-activist-mahmoud-khalil-reactions |access-date=March 10, 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=March 10, 2025}} Brad Lander, Ben Burgis,{{cite news |last1=Burgis |first1=Ben |title=Trump is bragging about ICE arresting a legal immigrant for 'bad' speech |url=https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/mahmoud-khalil-ice-arrest-columbia-free-speech-rcna195699 |access-date=March 10, 2025 |publisher=MSNBC |date=March 10, 2025 |archive-date=March 11, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250311013730/https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/mahmoud-khalil-ice-arrest-columbia-free-speech-rcna195699 |url-status=live }} Katherine Franke,{{cite news |title=Columbia Professor Supporting Pro-Palestine Students Speaks Out |url=https://zeteo.com/p/columbia-trump-katherine-franke-professor-pushed-out |access-date=March 11, 2025 |work=Zeteo |date=March 10, 2025 |archive-date=March 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250310140341/https://zeteo.com/p/columbia-trump-katherine-franke-professor-pushed-out |url-status=live }} Jameel Jaffer, Sonja West,{{cite news |last1=Ellison |first1=Sarah |title=Mahmoud Khalil's arrest violates First Amendment protections, lawyers say |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/13/khalil-columbia-trump-arrest-anti-semitism/ |access-date=March 13, 2025 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=March 13, 2025}} Robby Soave,{{cite news |last1=Soave |first1=Robby |title=Mahmoud Khalil Is an Easy Call |url=https://reason.com/2025/03/13/mahmoud-khalil-is-an-easy-call/ |access-date=March 13, 2025 |work=Reason |date=March 13, 2025}} and Charlie Pierce.{{cite news |last1=Pierce |first1=Charles |title=So We're Disappearing People Now? |url=https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a64127766/mahmoud-khalil-palestinian-columbia-student-israel-ice/ |access-date=March 10, 2025 |work=Esquire |date=March 10, 2025}}

Some conservatives who support the Trump administration's broader deportation plans expressed unease at Khalil's arrest.{{cite news |last1=Ward |first1=Myah |title=Trump's arrest of Columbia student marks new turn in immigration crackdown debate |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/10/trump-undocumented-immigrants-crackdown-columbia-00222245 |access-date=March 13, 2025 |work=Politico |date=March 10, 2025 |archive-date=March 12, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250312140024/https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/10/trump-undocumented-immigrants-crackdown-columbia-00222245 |url-status=live }} Conservative commentator Ann Coulter indicated concern about the arrest's constitutionality; Matthew Bartlett—a Republican strategist and State Department advisor during the first presidency of Donald Trump—expressed apprehension at the apparent contradiction with JD Vance's advocacy for freedom of speech; and The American Conservative editor Andrew Day wrote that, while Khalil should not have been admitted to the U.S. in the first place, upon arrival he "obtained the right to protest and express his political views".{{cite news |last1=Day |first1=Andrew |title=Mahmoud Khalil, Viewed From the Right |url=https://www.theamericanconservative.com/mahmoud-khalil-viewed-from-the-right/|work=The American Conservative |access-date=March 20, 2025 |date=March 19, 2025}} Journalist Mona Charen opined similarly.{{Cite web |last=Charen |first=Mona |title=Mahmoud Khalil Has Rights, Dammit |url=https://www.thebulwark.com/p/mahmoud-khalil-has-rights-dammit-immigration-israel-hamas-october-7-free-speech-antisemitism-columbia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250313084645/https://www.thebulwark.com/p/mahmoud-khalil-has-rights-dammit-immigration-israel-hamas-october-7-free-speech-antisemitism-columbia |archive-date=2025-03-13 |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=The Bulwark |language=en |quote=If I were vested with plenary authority to decide who could come to the United States, I would turn away someone like Mahmoud Khalil, who not only participates in but leads an organization that cheers terroristic violence. But no one in America has that plenary authority—we have laws and procedures, and under those laws, Khalil became a legal permanent resident. As such he enjoys most of the rights of a citizen.}} Former Trump adviser Mercedes Schlapp expressed support for Khalil's arrest and said U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib should be deported, though Tlaib is a natural-born U.S. citizen from Detroit.{{cite news |last1=Baragona |first1=Justin |title=CPAC leader calls for US-born congresswoman to be deported alongside Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/mercedes-schlapp-rashida-tlaib-mahmoud-khalil-b2713898.html |access-date=March 12, 2025 |work=The Independent |date=March 12, 2025}} Political commentator Ben Shapiro also signaled support for Khalil's deportation.{{cite news |last1=Shapiro |first1=Ben |title=Yes, Non-Citizen Terror Supporters Should Leave |url=https://www.creators.com/read/ben-shapiro/03/25/yes-non-citizen-terror-supporters-should-leave |access-date=March 20, 2025 |work=Creators Syndicate |date=March 12, 2025}}

After Khalil's arrest, demonstrations protesting his detention were held in New York City,{{cite news |last1=Acevedo |first1=Nicole |date=March 10, 2025 |title=Judge says Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil can't be deported from U.S. as protesters call for his release |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/demonstrators-take-nycs-federal-plaza-mahmoud-khalil-arrested-ice-rcna195602 |access-date=March 10, 2025 |publisher=NBC News |archive-date=March 11, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250311003738/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/demonstrators-take-nycs-federal-plaza-mahmoud-khalil-arrested-ice-rcna195602 |url-status=live }} and within a few days, an online petition calling for his release had received more than three million signatures.{{Cite web |last=Rahman |first=Billal |date=2025-03-13 |title=Mahmoud Khalil petition more popular than $2,000 stimulus checks |url=https://www.newsweek.com/mahmoud-khalil-petition-more-popular-overtakes-2000-stimulus-checks-2043685 |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=Newsweek |language=en}} Other rallies were held at Federal Plaza in Chicago and at Stanford University.{{Cite web |last=Burke |first=Minyvonne |date=2025-03-11 |title=Protesters demand release of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil as judge blocks deportation |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/protesters-demand-release-palestinian-activist-mahmoud-khalil-judge-bl-rcna195786 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250311172533/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/protesters-demand-release-palestinian-activist-mahmoud-khalil-judge-bl-rcna195786 |archive-date=March 11, 2025 |access-date=2025-03-11 |publisher=NBC News |language=en}}

Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression legal director Will Creeley called Department of Homeland Security deputy secretary Troy Edgar's NPR interview defending Khalil's detention "stunning" and said his "conflation of protest and terrorism stopped me cold". Washington Post columnist Shadi Hamid wrote that the interview was the latest confirmation from the Trump administration that "Khalil's arrest has no basis". In The Nation, Dima Khalidi described the administration's actions as McCarthyist red-baiting that weaponize antisemitism.{{Cite news |last=Khalidi |first=Dima |date=2025-03-11 |title=Mahmoud Khalil's Abduction Is a Red Alert for Universities |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/society/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-trump-universities/ |access-date=2025-03-14 |language=en-US |issn=0027-8378 |archive-date=March 12, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250312210402/https://www.thenation.com/article/society/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-trump-universities/ |url-status=live }}

The Council on American-Islamic Relations,{{cite news |last1=Prater |first1=Nia |title=What We Know About the Arrest of Mahmoud Khalil |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-student-pro-palestine-activist-what-we-know.html |access-date=March 10, 2025 |work=New York |date=March 10, 2025 |archive-date=March 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250310174146/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-student-pro-palestine-activist-what-we-know.html |url-status=live }} the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee,{{Cite web |last=Hanania |first=Ray |date=2025-03-13 |title=Deporting Mahmoud Khalil from US would fuel wider expulsion campaign against Arabs, Muslims: Attorney |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/2593460/world |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=Arab News |language=en}} the Arab American Institute criticized the arrest.

According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), Khalil's detention "divided Jews"; an unscientific survey of its readers found a "slight majority" supported Khalil's deportation.{{cite news |last1=Silol-Carroll |first1=Andrew |title='Resounding no' to 'strongly support': JTA readers weigh in on Trump's bid to deport Mahmoud Khalil |url=https://www.jta.org/2025/03/17/ideas/resounding-no-to-strongly-support-jta-readers-weigh-in-on-trumps-bid-to-deport-mahmoud-khalil |access-date=March 21, 2025 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=March 17, 2025}} Jewish Currents reported that Jewish American organizations were split on the question: "mainstream groups have remained silent, and liberal Zionist and anti-Zionist Jewish organizations have sharply condemned it".{{cite news |title=The Jewish Institutional Reaction to Mahmoud Khalil's Abduction |url=https://jewishcurrents.org/the-jewish-institutional-reaction-to-mahmoud-khalils-abduction |access-date=March 13, 2025 |work=Jewish Currents |date=March 13, 2025}}

Jewish members of the Columbia University faculty protested Khalil's arrest on campus on March 10,{{cite news |title=Judge temporarily blocks deportation of arrested Palestinian Columbia student |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/arrested-palestinian-columbia-student-moved-louisiana-jail-lawyers-fight-2025-03-10/ |access-date=March 12, 2025 |publisher=Reuters |date=March 11, 2025}} and several Jewish groups expressed concern about or opposition to his detention,{{cite news |last1=Sales |first1=Ben |date=March 10, 2025 |title=A growing number of Jewish groups are condemning Mahmoud Khalil's arrest |url=https://www.jta.org/2025/03/10/united-states/a-growing-number-of-jewish-groups-are-condemning-mahmoud-khalils-arrest |access-date=March 10, 2025 |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |archive-date=March 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250310232428/https://www.jta.org/2025/03/10/united-states/a-growing-number-of-jewish-groups-are-condemning-mahmoud-khalils-arrest |url-status=live }} including J Street, Jewish Voice for Peace, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice,{{cite news |last1=Ley |first1=Ana |date=March 10, 2025 |title=Pro-Palestinian Activist at Columbia Is Moved to Detention in Louisiana |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/nyregion/mahmoud-khalil-ice-louisiana.html |access-date=March 10, 2025 |work=The New York Times}} IfNotNow,{{cite news |last1=Tracy |first1=Marc |last2=Shapiro |first2=Eliza |date=March 11, 2025 |title=Among American Jews, a Schism Over ICE Arrest of Columbia Activist |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/nyregion/palestinian-activist-arrest-jewish-community.html |access-date=March 11, 2025 |work=The New York Times |archive-date=March 11, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250311111910/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/nyregion/palestinian-activist-arrest-jewish-community.html |url-status=live }} and Bend the Arc.{{cite news |last1=Sales |first1=Ben |date=March 10, 2025 |title=ICE arrests Palestinian protest leader at Columbia, in sharp escalation of campus actions |url=https://www.jta.org/2025/03/10/united-states/ice-arrests-palestinian-protest-leader-at-columbia-in-sharp-escalation-of-campus-actions |access-date=March 10, 2025 |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency}} These concerns were echoed by several Jewish individuals, including Jonathan Jacoby, Erwin Chemerinsky,{{cite news |last1=Chemerinsky |first1=Erwin |date=March 11, 2025 |title=Mahmoud Khalil's pro-Palestinian comments are protected speech, not grounds for deportation |url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2025-03-11/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-antisemitism-free-speech-first-amendment |access-date=March 11, 2025 |work=Los Angeles Times}} Noah Feldman,{{cite news |date=March 12, 2025 |title=We Could All Be Mahmoud Khalil |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2025-03-12/we-could-all-be-mahmoud-khalil-video |access-date=March 12, 2025 |publisher=Bloomberg}} and Jill Stein.{{cite news |date=March 10, 2025 |title=Pro-Palestinian activist's arrest was 'illegal': Jill Stein |url=https://www.newsnationnow.com/on-balance-with-leland-vittert/pro-palestinian-activists-arrest-illegal-jill-stein/ |access-date=March 10, 2025 |work=News Nation}} More than one of the groups said the Trump administration was using antisemitism as an excuse for an authoritarian agenda. Jewish Voice for Peace organized a sit-in at Trump Tower in Manhattan on March 13 during which protesters chanted "Free Mahmoud Khalil".{{cite news |last1=Bailey |first1=Chelsea |date=March 13, 2025 |title=Protesters arrested after storming Trump Tower to demand release of Mahmoud Khalil |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/13/us/mahmoud-khalil-protesters-arrested-trump-tower/index.html |access-date=March 13, 2025 |work=CNN |archive-date=March 13, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250313181003/https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/13/us/mahmoud-khalil-protesters-arrested-trump-tower/index.html |url-status=live}} About 300 protesters participated, and almost 100 were arrested.{{Cite news |last1=Burke |first1=Minyvonne |last2=Lavietes |first2=Matt |date=March 13, 2025 |title=Nearly 100 protesters arrested after sit-in at Trump Tower in NYC to demand release of Mahmoud Khalil |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/protesters-take-trump-tower-nyc-demand-release-mahmoud-khalil-rcna196265 |access-date=March 13, 2025 |work=NBC News |language=en |archive-date=March 13, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250313190345/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/protesters-take-trump-tower-nyc-demand-release-mahmoud-khalil-rcna196265 |url-status=live}}

In an op-ed for The Free Press, Alan Dershowitz criticized public support given to Khalil's views while also calling for civil liberty groups to "defend his First Amendment right not to be punished (in this case deported)".{{cite news |last1=Dershowitz |first1=Alan |date=March 21, 2025 |title=Alan Dershowitz: Mahmoud Khalil Deserves Speech Rights, Not Sympathy |url=https://www.thefp.com/p/alan-dershowitz-mahmoud-khalil-deserves |access-date=March 21, 2025 |work=The Free Press}}

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the Orthodox Union, and Betar US praised Khalil's arrest as an effort to stop antisemitism on college campuses. The ADL said his detention "illustrates [the Trump administration's] resolve by holding alleged perpetrators responsible for their actions", but that any immigration status actions must follow due process.

On March 11, 14 House Democrats wrote to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem calling Khalil's arrest and detention an "illegal abduction" and demanding his release.{{Cite news |last=Nichols |first=John |date=March 12, 2025 |title=14 House Dems Demanded Mahmoud Khalil's Release. Where Are the Others? |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/mahmoud-khalil-house-democrats-letter/ |access-date=March 12, 2025 |work=The Nation |language=en-US |issn=0027-8378}} Other congressional Democrats spoke out individually, including Senators Dick Durbin, Chris Murphy, and Chuck Schumer and Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jerry Nadler, and Jamie Raskin.{{cite news |last1=Friedman |first1=Amanda |date=March 11, 2025 |title=Democrats divided over the arrest of Palestinian student for his role in Columbia protests |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/11/democrats-student-arrest-columbia-protests-00225542 |access-date=March 12, 2025 |work=Politico}} On March 14, over 100 House Democrats sent Noem and Rubio a letter saying that the attempt to punish Khalil for his speech evoked McCarthyism and "is the playbook of authoritarians" and asking that the administration respond to specific questions about its use of the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).{{Cite web |last=Ward |first=Myah |date=2025-03-14 |title=Dems ask Trump admin to explain Khalil's arrest, calling it 'playbook of authoritarians' |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/14/congress-democrats-mahmoud-khalil-00230573 |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=POLITICO |language=en}} This was followed by another letter to Noem and Rubio from eight Democratic senators on March 21, noting in part that the INA required Rubio to notify Congress of his specific reasons for believing that Khalil's lawful residency posed a serious threat to foreign policy.{{Cite web |last=Cohen |first=Luc |title=Trump administration abused immigration laws with Khalil's arrest, Democratic senators say |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/21/trump-abused-immigration-laws-mahmoud-khalil-arrest-democratic-senators/82587415007/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=USA Today |language=en-US}}

Twenty congressional Republicans gave statements to the Washington Reporter, lauding the Trump administration's effort to deport people they see as terrorist sympathizers.{{Cite web |last=Foldi |first=Matthew |date=2025-03-11 |title="Free him? More like deport him": Congress backs up Trump administration on deporting pro-terrorist non-citizens |url=https://washingtonreporter.news/p/exclusive-free-him-more-like-deport |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=Washington Reporter |language=en}} House Speaker Mike Johnson called Khalil a "mastermind" of the protests at Columbia and encouraged the revocation of student visas.{{Cite web |last=Weiss |first=Benjamin S. |date=2025-03-11 |title='We're gonna arrest your tail': House Speaker berates detained Palestinian activist — but won't point to a crime |url=https://www.courthousenews.com/were-gonna-arrest-your-tail-house-speaker-berates-detained-palestinian-activist-but-wont-point-to-a-crime/ |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=Courthouse News |language=en-US}}

Attorney General of New York Letitia James said she was "extremely concerned about the arrest" and her office was "monitoring the situation".{{cite news |title=Trump lauds ICE detainment of Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University protests |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/10/trump-palestinian-activist-columbia-00221550 |access-date=March 10, 2025 |work=Politico |date=March 10, 2025}} New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams declined to opine on the arrests. Adams complained that the level of public support expressed for Khalil eclipsed the level of support he (Adams) received after his own arrest on bribery and wire fraud charges.{{cite news |title=New Yorkers Protest as White House Defends Arrest of Columbia Activist |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/nyregion/mahmoud-khalil-protest-white-house.html |access-date=March 12, 2025 |work=The New York Times |date=March 12, 2025|quote=He chided reporters for asking repeatedly about the arrest. “What I’m finding surprising is the level of support you’re all displaying, but I didn’t see that support for me,” he said, alluding to his five-count criminal indictment.}}{{cite news |last1=Campbell |first1=Jon |title=Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams won't weigh in on arrest of pro-Palestinian Columbia protester |url=https://gothamist.com/news/gov-hochul-and-mayor-adams-decline-comment-on-arrest-of-pro-palestinian-columbia-protester |quote=Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams have refused to weigh in on the federal arrest of a pro-Palestinian activist who was involved in the protests at Columbia University last year. |access-date=March 12, 2025 |work=Gothamist |date=March 12, 2025 |archive-date=March 12, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250312033801/https://gothamist.com/news/gov-hochul-and-mayor-adams-decline-comment-on-arrest-of-pro-palestinian-columbia-protester |url-status=live }}

• Immigration policy of the second Donald Trump administration
• Michel Shehadeh, who was arrested in 1987 under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 on the basis of alleged support for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, with charges dismissed two decades later.
• Reactions to the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses
• Deportation of Rasha Alawieh
• Detention of Rümeysa Öztürk
• Detention of Mohsen Mahdawi
• Activist deportations in the second Trump presidency

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category|Mahmoud Khalil (activist)}}

• [https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69757814/khalil-v-joyce/ Mahmoud Khalil v. William P. Joyce, et al.] (2:25-cv-01963)

{{2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses}}

{{Second presidency of Donald Trump}}

{{Gaza war}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Detention of Mahmoud Khalil}}

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Category:Anti-Palestinian sentiment in the United States

Khalil, Mahmoud

>Khalil, Mahmoud

Category:Civil rights of students

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Category:Marco Rubio

Category:Palestinian-American history

Category:Political repression in the United States

Category:Second Trump administration controversies

Category:U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Category:Deportation from the United States

Category:Academic freedom controversies