ICE arrests Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University protests, his lawyer says

[Kid Berwyn]

Source: Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal immigration authorities arrested a Palestinian graduate student who played a prominent role in last spring’s anti-Israel protests at Columbia University, according to his attorney.

Mahmoud Khalil was inside his university-owned residence Saturday night near Columbia’s Manhattan campus when several Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents entered the building and took him into custody, his attorney, Amy Greer, told The Associated Press.

Greer said she spoke by phone with one of the ICE agents during the arrest, who said they were acting on State Department orders to revoke Khalil’s student visa. Informed by the attorney that Khalil was in the United States as a permanent resident with a green card, the agent said they were revoking that too, according to the lawyer.

The arrest appeared to be among the first known actions under President Donald Trump’s pledge to deport international students who joined the protests against Israel’s war in Gaza that swept college campuses last spring. His administration has claimed participants forfeited their rights to remain in the country by supporting Hamas, a terror organization.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-mahmoud-khalil-ice-15014bcbb921f21a9f704d5acdcae7a8

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THIS is NAZI.

[red dog 1]

1. #NaziMusk

(Share on Bluesky)

[Kid Berwyn]

2. Great idea!

Especially this part:

Khalil served as a negotiator for students as they bargained with university officials over an end to the tent encampment erected on campus, a role that made him one of the few student activists willing to share his name and identity.

The Turd Reich is merciless in pursuit of those who disagree with their un-American crap.

[EarthAbides]

3. This is a test

The court will order Dumpster Trump to release this student, if Dumpster Trump continues to hold this student then we know that anyone of us are next.

[DBoon]

4. "supporting Hamas" can be defined VERY broadly

If you believe Hamas is embedded in the Palestinian population and enjoys the support of the population, then ANY aid or support of Palestinian civilians is support for Hamas. Maybe José Andrés could be deported?

Deporting a permanent resident is itself very concerning. Could naturalized citizens be next - the administration could claim supporting "terrorist" Hamas is grounds for revoking citizenship.

[LeftInTX]

15. Legally, he would have needed to provide material support for Hamas

Trump and Rubio are just spouting their mouths....

I guess they can be bit stricter with green card holders because they "are on probation here".....But spouting support through a megaphone probably just doesn't cut it...


The sections each define the term “material support or resources” to mean any service or tangible or intangible
property.





https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R41333#:~:text=The%20sections%20each%20define%20the,or%20tangible%20or%20intangible%20property.

[hlthe2b]

5. So, where do they think they are going to deport him? Gaza?

or have they created their own Hamas-level death camps?

He had a permanent resident green card. This should be court-reviewed.

[LeftInTX]

7. He's a Palestinian from Syria. I doubt he will lose his green card. I think this whole thing was PR stunt gone wrong.

They went to his place to announce they were deporting him to Syria because his student visa expired. (He graduated in December) Easy peasy...PR for ICE!

He then told him that he had a green card....Oops

They then told him they were revoking his green card. But I think it was BS to haul him in. He likely does not meet the criteria for green card revocation. (There are some technicalities they can use, but he likely doesn't meet the criteria)

https://www.rebeccablacklaw.com/how-a-green-card-can-be-revoked/#:~:text=Aggravated%20Felonies%3A%20This%20category%20includes,without%20the%20possibility%20of%20reentry.

He could possibly sue for false imprisonment, but ICE won't care. They got their PR out of it.

[srobertss]

11. Thank you for additional info

I did not know they went after him thinking he was on a student visa and then found out during the arrest that he was a permanent resident. Keeping my fingers crossed that it goes no further or I think we can count this as the first political arrest, a line I'm hoping won't be crossed. I'll be looking for updates.

Edit: of course, it's still a political arrest, but I think they have alot more legal latitude with student visas. So it's still reprehensible, but perhaps isn't unconstitutional? Actually, I don't really know.

[Polybius]

13. Do you know when he first came here and when he obtained his green card, and if was he properly vetted?

I searched, but couldn't find anything.

[LeftInTX]

14. I have no idea, except that he did work the British Embassy in Syria over the summer.

I think immigration info is confidential. It would be up to him to provide the info. He is married to a US citizen. Marriage is one of the avenues to a green card.



However, I don't think "green card issues" are a reason for his detention.

Trump has said, "antisemitism" and Rubio has said "support for Hamas".
However, verbal support for Hamas is not considered "support for Hamas", it's considered "free speech". I personally think Columbia should have suspended students who brandished Hamas flags etc. Because, I think brandishing Hamas flags, shouting "death to America", burning effigies of Biden, is a form of "hate speech" and "intimidation". But that would be Columbia's responsibility, not the DOJ.

But in order to "support Hamas" in the legal sense, he would have needed to have contact with Hamas via telegram or another dark web app or wired them funds etc. So far, I don't think anyone in the US has been arrested for supporting Hamas since Oct 7. I really doubt this is the case, because they went after him with the revoked student visa (which was expired) and then "changed their minds" when that wasn't an option.

[LeftInTX]

8. Aljazeera says that he's an Algerian citizen. I read Syrian elsewhere, but I think AJ is likely accurate.

[hlthe2b]

9. Well, regardless, I hope his lawyer gets to court pronto...

THis is beyond bullshit--like everything else.

I'm beginning to think nothing can be beyond Trump's disregard for law, constitution, democracy, or humanity. While I hang onto a shred of optimism that this can (ALL) be stopped, I put nothing past him.

[LeftInTX]

10. Keep in mind, they've hauled in US citizens in a few of these ICE raids.

They've been released, but it is a violation to detain people without probable cause.

[ZRB]

6. Those protests helped usher in Trump 2.0

Hope he has a great time with the FAFO.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

12. US authorities arrest Palestinian student protester at Columbia University, students say

US authorities arrest Palestinian student protester at Columbia University, students say

The detention of graduate student Mahmoud Khalil appears to be one of the first efforts by Donald Trump to fulfill his promise to seek the deportation of some foreign students involved in the pro-Palestinian protest movement.

{snip}