Federal immigration agents in the United States have detained a Palestinian graduate student who played a significant role in organizing pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University in New York. This action follows President Donald Trump’s commitment to deport international students participating in anti-Israel demonstrations.
Mahmoud Khalil, a student from the university’s School of International and Public Affairs, was apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Sunday, according to a department of Homeland Security (DHS) announcement on the platform X.
The Student Workers of Columbia labor union (SWC) stated that Khalil was arrested on Saturday evening at his residence within the university. The DHS claimed that Khalil led activities associated with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, further stating that the arrest was made to support President Trump’s executive orders against antisemitism. The US, along with several other countries, classifies Hamas as a terror organization. US law prohibits providing “material support or resources” to groups designated as terrorist organizations, though it doesn’t explicitly define or prohibit activities aligned with these groups. Neither ICE nor DHS has accused Khalil of giving material support to Hamas.
During the spring, numerous US college campuses witnessed demonstrations against the Israeli operation in Gaza. At Columbia University, Khalil mediated between students and university officials regarding the removal of a protest camp on campus. Expressing concerns before his arrest, Khalil feared government retribution for speaking to the media. His wife, a US citizen, is pregnant, and Khalil held a permanent residency green card at the time of his apprehension, as stated by the SWC.
Khalil’s arrest has sparked criticism from civil rights groups, who view it as an assault on protected political expression. This follows President Trump’s pledge to crack down on pro-Palestinian protests, labeling them as antisemitic. Secretary of State Marco Rubio supported this stance on social media, affirming that visas or green cards of Hamas supporters in America would be revoked to facilitate their deportation. In response to alleged campus antisemitism, the Trump administration revoked some $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Colombia University.
The SWC reported that ICE agents were seen accessing or attempting to access Columbia University buildings over the weekend, including undergraduate housing. The university has maintained that any law enforcement presence on non-public areas, such as university buildings, would require a judicial warrant.
By Saim Dušan Inayatullah
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/us-pro-palestinian-campus-protest-leader-arrested/a-71872786?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
