ICE Detains Pro-Palestinian Activist At Columbia University

MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS, NY — Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate who was outspoken in the University's pro-Palestinian protests last spring as a student negotiator, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on campus Saturday night.

The arrest, first reported by the Associated Press, comes less than a week after the Trump administration pulled $400 million in federal grants from Columbia and the president vowed to arrest and deport student activists.

According to the Associated Press, Khalil, who graduated from Columbia in December 2024 with a master's in international affairs, was arrested by ICE in his university-owned apartment building on Saturday night in Morningside Heights.

ICE agents said there had been orders to revoke his student visa, but when Khalil's attorney, Amy Greer, told them that Khalil was in the United States as a legal permanent resident with a green card, the ICE agent said they were revoking that instead, according to the Associated Press.

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, confirmed the detainment to Patch, but did not mention any formal charges against Khalil.

“On March 9, 2025, in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism, and in coordination with the Department of State, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student. Khalil led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization," McLaughlin said.

The Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition — a student organization on campus — said Khalil's wife, who is a United States citizen and eight months pregnant, was present during the arrest.

"This is not just an attack on Mahmoud Khalil, but on his family, his community, and the larger struggle for Palestinian rights," the student organization said in a statement.

The university acknowledged ICE's presence on campus in a statement over the weekend.

“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," the statement reads. "Columbia is committed to complying with all legal obligations and supporting our student body and campus community.”

Khalil, who was born in Syria, now appears to be held at a detention center in Louisiana, according to a detainee locator.

Trump praised the arrest on Monday morning on social media and said other student activists at Columbia and other schools could soon follow.

"This is the first arrest of many to come. We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it," Trump wrote.

Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, called the arrest "blatantly unconstitutional."

"In the United States, the First Amendment guarantees everyone freedom of speech. Targeting a student activist is an affront to the rights of Mahmoud Khalil and his family. This blatantly unconstitutional act sends a deplorable message that freedom of speech is no longer protected in America."

This is a developing story and may be updated. For questions and tips, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.