Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist and recent graduate of Columbia University, was arrested in New York on Saturday evening, according to his lawyer.
The move is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to arrest and deport foreign students it accuses of participating in what it describes as antisemitic campus demonstrations.
Khalil, an Algerian citizen of Palestinian descent, played a visible role during protests at Columbia against the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, serving as a student negotiator in talks with university officials.
He was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers at his university-owned apartment in New York, lawyer Amy Greer said. As of Sunday evening, Greer said she had no information on where Khalil was being detained.
She also claimed that ICE agents threatened to arrest Khalil’s wife, who is currently eight months pregnant.
This was reported by Euronews.
Also read
Visa Controversy and Escalating Rhetoric
During the arrest, ICE agents reportedly told Greer that the U.S. State Department intended to cancel Khalil’s student visa. When she clarified that Khalil holds permanent U.S. residency (Green Card), she was informed that officials would seek to revoke that status instead.
“This is a clear escalation,” Greer said. “The administration is following through on its threats.”
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Khalil’s arrest, saying it was carried out “in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting antisemitism.”
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin also alleged Khalil had “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization,” though no evidence was presented publicly to support that claim.
Trump Administration Targets Campus Protests
The arrest follows Trump’s recent statements vowing to go after what he called “illegal protests” against Israel on U.S. campuses.
Writing on Truth Social, Trump said: “Agitators will be imprisoned or permanently sent back to the country from which they came.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed the message on Sunday, saying that Khalil’s detention was only the beginning, and that visas and green cards of “Hamas supporters in America” would be revoked.
Rubio, too, provided no evidence of Khalil’s ties to the group.
Critics argue that the administration is using immigration enforcement to punish political dissent.
“This has the appearance of a retaliatory action against someone who expressed an opinion the Trump administration didn't like,” said Camille Mackler, founder of Immigrant ARC, a coalition of legal service providers in New York.
University Fallout
Khalil, who completed a master’s degree in international affairs, was a prominent face of the Columbia protests, which called on the university to divest from companies tied to Israel.
In the wake of those protests, the U.S. government on Friday announced it would cut $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University.
