The case of a graduate student in the U.S. that was arrested on Saturday night by immigration and customs enforcement agents: a student who was working at Columbia University
A graduate student at Columbia University who was working on a master’s degree, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Saturday night, his attorney told The Associated Press.
In a social media post on Monday, Trump said the arrest was the first of many to come. He vowed that his administration “will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again.”
The move is an escalation in Trump’s effort to increase deportations from the U.S. and strip protections from those who violate the new administration’s priorities.
The trust foreign students have in the US was violated by the move to strip the green card of Khalil, says a mathematics professor at Columbia University.
“They come because of their trust and belief that they could speak out freely while they’re here and not be harassed because of their political activity or advocacy,” he said.
They said that the student visa had been canceled. But he’s not on a visa; he’s a legal permanent resident. His wife went to get his green card from their apartment, but officers said his lawful permanent residency had been revoked.
A green card can allow people to live and work in the US as a U.S. citizen. Criminal activity, fraud in the application process or both can cause their revocation by an immigration judge.
The Center for Human Rights and the Laws of the Modern Century: Investigating the Case Against Khalil’s Detention in the United States
The person is not allowed to live in the United States unless the government can show that they are deportable. And then just depending on what ground we’re looking at, that’s where the fight ensues.”
Separately, in a post on X, Secretary of State Marco Rubio linked to a story about Khalil’s arrest and wrote the administration would be revoking the visas or green cards of Hamas supporters so that they can be deported.
“We will vigorously be pursuing Mahmoud’s rights in court, and will continue our efforts to right this terrible and inexcusable – and calculated – wrong committed against him,” Greer said in a later statement.
Several groups planned rallies and gatherings around Manhattan on Monday in protest of Khalil’s arrest. The professor says that the community was surprised ICE’s first target was a green card holder, instead of someone without legal status.
“Consistent with our longstanding practice and the practice of cities and institutions throughout the country, law enforcement must have a judicial warrant to enter non-public University areas, including University buildings,” it said in a statement on Sunday.
During his first term, Trump took steps to limit visas for foreigners, denaturalization and cancel naturalized U.S. citizens’ immigration status.
But immigration law experts have said that the number of people who might lie on forms is very small compared to the millions of people who are naturalized or receive green cards each year.
The university’s allegations against Khalil focused on his involvement in the Columbia University Apartheid Divest group. He faced sanctions for potentially helping to organize an “unauthorized marching event” in which participants glorified Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack and playing a “substantial role” in the circulation of social media posts criticizing Zionism, among other acts of alleged discrimination.
As ICE agents arrived at Khalil’s Manhattan residence Saturday night, they also threatened to arrest Khalil’s wife, an American citizen who is eight months pregnant, Greer said.
Khalil’s attorney said they were initially informed that he was being held at an immigration detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey. His wife was unable to visit him on Sunday because he was not there. Greer said she still did not know Khalil’s whereabouts as of Sunday night.
“We have not been able to get any more details about why he is being detained,” Greer told the AP. This is a clear example of escalation. The administration is keeping its threats.
The school didn’t say if they had received a warrant for the crime before the arrest of the man. The spokesperson declined to comment on Khalil’s detention.
Immigration Lawyers, Student Negotiations, and the Ivy League Camp Camp Camp Rejection: a Case Study against a Green Card Holder
The Department of Homeland Security can initiate deportation proceedings against green card holders for a broad range of alleged criminal activity, including supporting a terror group. But the detention of a legal permanent resident who has not been charged with a crime marked an extraordinary move with an uncertain legal foundation, according to immigration experts.
“This has the appearance of a retaliatory action against someone who expressed an opinion the Trump administration didn’t like,” said Camille Mackler, founder of Immigrant ARC, a coalition of legal service providers in New York.
The graduate student from Columbia’s school of international affairs served as a negotiation expert for the students as they negotiated with university officials over the removal of the tent camped on campus last spring.
In the last month, pro-Israel activists have called on the Trump administration to begin deportation proceedings against him because he was one of the most visible supporters of the movement.
The investigations come as the Trump administration has followed through on its threat to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to Columbia because of what the government describes as the Ivy League school’s failure to squelch antisemitism on campus.
“They just want to show Congress and right-wing politicians that they’re doing something, regardless of the stakes for students,” he added. The office is supposed to chill pro-Palestine speech.