Protest Erupts In NYC After ICE Arrests Palestinian Columbia Student

NEW YORK CITY — More than 3,000 demonstrators flocked to Foley Square in lower Manhattan on Monday afternoon to protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for detaining Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student and legal U.S. resident who was outspoken in the University's pro-Palestinian protests.

During Monday's protest — which wove its way through lower Manhattan, calling for both Khalil's release and right to free speech — two demonstrators were arrested, police said.

A 21-year-old man was arrested for obstructing governmental administration and a 33-year-old man was arrested for assault, police said.

The NYPD did not provide Patch with any additional details of what led to the arrest or what they meant by "obstructing governmental administration" but told Patch that the 21-year-old received a desk appearance ticket.

Who is Mahmoud Khalil?

Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate who was outspoken in the University's pro-Palestinian encampment protests last spring as a public-facing student negotiator, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on campus Saturday night, despite his status as a legal U.S. permanent resident with a green card.

The arrest 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.

Khalil, who finished his master's degree in international affairs in December 2024 and is expected to walk at graduation this spring, 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.

Khalil, who is Palestinian but was born in Syria after his grandparents were removed from their homeland, now appears to be held at a detention center in Louisiana, according to a detainee locator.

What's next?

A New York judge is slamming the brakes and has ordered the Trump administration and attorneys for Khalil to appear in court downtown on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.

The judge has also ordered that Khalil not be deported from the U.S. unless the court decides otherwise.

"To preserve the Court's jurisdiction pending a ruling on the petition, [Khalil] shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court orders otherwise," Judge Jesse Furman wrote.

However, on Monday, President Donald Trump praised the arrest 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.

"We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again. If you support terrorism, including the slaughtering of innocent men, women, and children, your presence is contrary to our national and foreign policy interests, and you are not welcome here. We expect every one of America’s Colleges and Universities to comply," he continued.

Columbia University Interim President Katrina Armstrong released a lengthy statement on Monday in response to the escalating situation.

"We are taking a methodical and thoughtful approach to addressing the multitude of challenges ahead of us," she wrote, adding that Columbia administrators did not invite ICE onto campus. "We are deeply committed to freedom of speech as a fundamental value that we must uphold as a community—citizens and non-citizens alike."

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