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From the Associated Press: Federal immigration authorities arrested a Palestinian graduate student who played a prominent role in protests against Israel at Columbia University, according to his attorney.
Mahmoud Khalil was inside a university-owned residence Saturday night near Columbia’s Manhattan campus when several Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents entered his apartment 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 the 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.
Greer claimed that ICE agents also threatened to arrest Khalil’s wife, an American citizen who is eight months pregnant.
In a separate report, the New York Post explained: Despite graduating months ago, Khalil, who earned his undergraduate degree in Beirut, still lived in school-provided housing due to a policy allowing students to remain on campus after graduating.
The New York Post further wrote:
He has remained active in recent disruptive protests, including last week’s takeover of the Milstein Library at Barnard College. Videos and photographs posted on X depict him holding a bullhorn near the library entrance and engaged in discussion with school administrators.
That protest featured violent propaganda flyers that purportedly came directly from the “Hamas Media Office,” including one pamphlet titled “Our Narrative… Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” which justified the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people — and in which women were repeatedly raped, whole families were executed and 251 hostages were taken to the Gaza Strip.
BREAKING: Mahmoud Khalil, a student at Columbia, has reportedly been detained by DHS and had his green card revoked.
He was a lead negotiator in the 2024 encampment at Columbia and is seen here participating in last week’s sit-in at Barnard:pic.twitter.com/KH1sSahbpc
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) March 9, 2025
Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed, “We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.”
We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported https://t.co/oKba2Mmi3C
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) March 9, 2025
Take action to have every single pro-Hamas Student VISA holder deported!
Take Action: https://t.co/HODEhvHyjy
— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) March 9, 2025
A prominent Palestinian activist – who students say was a leader of protests and encampments on the Columbia University campus for months – has been arrested by ICE, according to sources.
I’m told Mahmoud Khalil was taken into custody last night at his university-owned apartment… pic.twitter.com/CsFU3wfmnX
— Alexis McAdams (@AlexisMcAdamsTV) March 9, 2025
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