Mahmoud Khalil, born in Syria and a graduate student at Columbia University until December, was taken from his university-owned apartment and detained on March 8 by several undercover Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The agents claimed they were acting on State Department orders to revoke Khalil’s student visa due to his activism in support of Palestine and his involvement in last year’s encampments at Columbia.
During the arrest, Khalil’s attorney, Amy Greer, spoke with the ICE agents. She informed them that Khalil was a lawful permanent resident of the United States and held a valid green card. Upon hearing this, the agents stated they would instead revoke his permanent residency. They also threatened to arrest Khalil’s eight-month-pregnant wife, Noor Abdalla, an American citizen.
“And then he asked him, like, can I see a warrant? He’s like, it’s on my phone, but never really showed it to us,” said Abdalla during an interview with National Public Radio. “And the officer was like, give the keys to your wife. And I was like, I’m not leaving him. And the officer goes, I’ll arrest you, too.”
New York initially detained Khalil before transferring him to an immigration detention center in Jena, Louisiana, where he awaits a decision on his case. Immigration lawyer John Gihon explained that Khalil should receive documentation outlining the reasons for his detention and potential deportation, along with a summons for immigration court proceedings, within 72 hours of his arrest. In a recent development, a federal judge in New York issued an order barring the Trump administration from deporting Khalil while his legal case is pending.
Khalil emailed the university pleading for protection a day before his arrest. He expressed that he had been unable to sleep due to fears of ICE or other dangerous individuals arriving at his home. He urged the university in his message to intervene and provide safeguards to prevent further harm.
“Since yesterday, I have been subjected to a vicious, coordinated, and dehumanizing doxxing campaign led by Columbia affiliates Shai Davidai and David Lederer who, among others, have labeled me a security threat and called for my deportation.”
Large protests demanding Khalil’s release erupted in New York and New Orleans following his arrest. Columbia University staff have also voiced their anger over his arrest and criticized the university’s handling of the situation.
“They put a target on his back, and they provided no protection for him over the last several days.” Katherine Franke, a retired professor of Law at Columbia University said, “The universities have two most sacred commitments and missions: to keep our students safe and to educate them. We have to say that Columbia abridged those two sacred missions, so abominably in this case, in Mahmoud’s case.”
Khalil’s arrest marks the first publicly known deportation effort under the Trump administration’s promised crackdown on students who participated in protesting the war in Gaza. The administration has argued that participants forfeited their right to remain in the country by expressing support for Hamas.
