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His lawyers said federal immigration authorities arrested a Palestinian graduate student who played a prominent role in the anti-Israel protests at Columbia University last spring.
Mahmoud Khalil was in a university-owned residence on Saturday night near Columbia’s Manhattan campus.
Greer spoke on the phone with one of the Ice Agents during his arrest and said he was acting under a State Department order to revoke Halil’s student visa. The lawyer informed him that Halil was in the US as a permanent resident with a green card, and the lawyer said the agents had revoked it too.
The arrest appeared to be one of the first known actions under President Donald Trump’s pledge to send international students to send out protests against Israeli war in Gaza, which swept university campuses last spring. His administration claimed that by supporting terrorist organisation Hamas, participants confiscated their right to remain in the country.
Halil served as a negotiator for students who ended the campus-built tent camp and negotiated with university officials.
Authorities refused to tell the eight-month pregnant Halil’s wife whether he was accused of committing a crime, Greer said. Halil was then transferred to an immigration detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
“We couldn’t get any more details on why he was in custody,” Greer told the Associated Press. “This is a clear escalation. The administration is chasing that threat.”
A Columbia spokesman said law enforcement must prepare a warrant before entering university property, but refused to say whether the school received one before Halil’s arrest. The spokesman also declined to comment on Khalil’s detention.
Messages seeking comment remained with the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE.
The Department of Homeland Security can launch deportation procedures for green cardholders for a wide range of criminal activities, including support for terrorist groups. According to Camille Mackler, founder of Immigrant ARC, a coalition of New York legal service providers, it is ultimately up to the immigrant judge to revoke someone’s permanent resident status.
“This is a retaliatory action against someone who expressed an opinion that the Trump administration didn’t like,” McCller said.
Khalil was one of those investigated by the new Columbia University office, which brought disciplinary charges against dozens of students who expressed criticism of Israel, according to records shared with the Associated Press.
New York police officers arrived at Columbia University just after 9pm Tuesday night and cleared protesters barricaded inside Hamilton Hall.
These investigations arise as the Trump administration stepped up scrutiny in Columbia as the government explains that Ivy League schools did not curb anti-Semitism on campus. On Friday, the federal agency announced it would cut $400 million in university grants and contracts.
The allegations against Halil focused on his involvement in Columbia University’s apartheid sales group, praised Hamas October 7, 2023, claiming it had sorted out the “illegal marching event” that played a “substantial role” in the circulation of social media posts criticizing geoism.
“I have about 13 allegations against me. Most of them are social media posts that I had nothing to do with,” Halil told the Associated Press last week.
“They just want to show Congress and right-wing politicians that they’re doing something regardless of the student’s interests,” he added. “It’s an office that cools down pro-Palestinian speeches, primarily.”
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