Palestinian activist arrested in the US as Trump targets student protests
Mahmoud Khalil (Photo: Getty Images)
Immigration agents in the US have arrested Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University student, in a move that escalates the Trump administration’s crackdown on student-led protests against Israel, AP News reports.
Mahmoud Khalil, who completed his studies at Columbia University in December, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at his apartment in New York on Saturday night.
His lawyer, Amy Greer, stated that ICE initially claimed they were revoking his student visa under orders from the State Department. However, when informed that Khalil was a permanent US resident with a green card, agents responded that they were revoking that status instead.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin later confirmed the arrest, saying it was carried out “in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism.” She also accused Khalil of having “led activities aligned with Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” This is the first known case of a legal permanent resident being targeted under Trump’s new policy to deport students who participated in last year’s pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
Controversy and legal concerns
The arrest has raised concerns among legal experts, who argue that detaining a green card holder without any criminal charges is a drastic escalation. Camille Mackler, founder of Immigrant ARC, criticized the move, stating, “This has the appearance of a retaliatory action against someone who expressed an opinion the Trump administration didn’t like.”
Khalil was a central figure in Columbia’s student protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza, serving as a negotiator between students and university officials. His role made him a target of pro-Israel groups, who recently pressured the government to initiate deportation proceedings against him.
His arrest comes as the Trump administration intensifies the crackdown on student protests, reminiscent of previous incidents where police forcibly cleared anti-Israeli student demonstrations on US campuses.
Khalil’s case also echoes the broader wave of activism seen at Columbia, where Palestinian students have led protests against the war in Gaza, demanding divestment from Israeli-linked companies.
