On Saturday, March 8, Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after acting as a leader in the pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University in the spring of 2024.

Columbia University made national headlines as one of the many American universities whose students were calling for their campus administration to call for a ceasefire in Palestine, along with disclosing and divesting any funds aiding Israel or being received from Israel. Last spring, Columbia students set up an encampment on their school’s campus, resulting in the arrests of dozens while receiving in-person and online support from millions. 

Khalil, who recently completed his masters at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, was an active participant and leader of these protests. He acted as one of the student negotiators when speaking to Columbia’s administration and was outspoken when speaking to the media about the liberation of Palestinian and Jewish people. Khalil’s actions led him to be labeled as pro-Hamas by many, including President Trump.

Khalil is a green card holder, making him a permanent resident of the United States; he’s also married to a U.S. citizen. The United States Constitution honors the right to freedom of speech and protest, both of which Khalil was expressing during his time participating in the various pro-Palestine actions Columbia students participated in over the past year. However, Khalil was taken from his home by ICE who claim to have been acting under State Department orders. Those orders also stated to revoke Khalil’s green card, which has been done. 

“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 on his social media app Truth Social. He continued, “we will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again.”

After revoking Khalil’s green card, the Trump Administration attempted to deport him. This request was immediately blocked by Judge Jesse Furman of New York, who instead scheduled a hearing for his case. 

Currently, Khalil is currently being detained in a detention facility in Louisiana with his legal team working to get him back to New York. In response to his arrest, protests have sparked in New York and the outrage has made its way to social media with thousands demanding the release of Khalil. 

Khalil’s case is set to be heard on Wednesday, March 11, in New York City. In order to be deported, the U.S. government would have to prove that Khalil actions went further than the rights that are protected by the Constitution. 

Despite the outcome of this specific case, the actions of the Trump Administration have set a dangerous precedent that people who are legally in the United States and have not committed any documented crimes can still be arrested and detained by ICE and possibly deported back to their home nation.