Key points
- Khalil is one of the most prominent faces in the campus’s protest movement
- Khalil’s arrest prompting thousands of people to sign a petition calling for his release
- Trump says foreign pro-Palestinian student demonstrators will be deported
NEW YORK: A leader of Columbia University protests against Israel’s war in Gaza was arrested by immigration officers, a campus union has said, after US President Donald Trump hinted to deport foreign pro-Palestinian student demonstrators.
AFP reported that Mahmoud Khalil, one of the most prominent faces in the campus’s protest movement that erupted in response to Israel’s conduct of the war, was arrested Saturday, the Student Workers of Columbia union said.
“On Saturday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers detained Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian recent Columbia graduate and lead negotiator for last spring’s Gaza solidarity encampment,” AFP cited the union statement as saying.
US campuses including Columbia’s in New York were rocked by student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.
Rubio’s reaction
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on his social media account X that “we will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.”
Khalil, who remains in immigration enforcement detention, held permanent residency at the time of his arrest prompting thousands of people to sign a petition calling for his release, the union statement added.
“We are also aware of multiple reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents accessing or attempting to access Columbia campus buildings on Friday and Saturday, including undergraduate dorms,” the union said.
Columbia University’s statement
Columbia did not directly address Khalil’s arrest in response to inquiries, but in a statement said “there have been reports of ICE in the streets around campus.”
“Columbia has and will continue to follow the law. 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,” Columbia said.
According to AFP, the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.
US media reported that Trump railed against the student protest movement linked to the conflict in Gaza, and vowed to deport foreign students who had staged demonstrations.
