Immigration officers arrested a pro-Palestinian activist that was one of the leaders at Columbia University's protests against Israel last spring, according to the Associated Press.
Mahmoud Khalil, an international affairs master's graduate, gained prominence at the height of the protest as a student leader during the negotiations with university officials to end the tent encampment, making him a target for the president Trump administration's threat to deport him. Khalil was also among the student activists Columbia disciplined for their participation in the protests, the news agency reported.
His attorney, Amy Greer, told the publication Khalil was arrested on Saturday at his university's residence. Although a university spokesperson said law enforcement were required to produce a warrant before entering its premises, they declined to comment on Khalil's arrest and would not confirm if the institution received a warrant ahead of his detention.
Greer added that the arresting officials, citing State Department orders, said Khalil’s green card would be revoked.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, told the AP that Khalil’s arrest was “in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism.”
Khalil's wife, a U.S. citizen, informed Greer that he was not in the immigration facility in Elizabeth, N.J., despite being informed he was detained there. Greer said it was unclear where Khalil was by Sunday evening.
Murad Awawdeh, President and chief executive officer of the New York Immigration Coalition said Khalil's arrest infringed on his right to freedom of speech and that revoking his green card would violate immigration laws.
“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. Furthermore, Khalil and all people living in the United States are afforded due process," said Awawdeh.
A green card can only be revoked by an immigration judge, showing once again that the Trump administration is willing to ignore the law in order to instill fear and further its racist agenda, Awawdeh said.
"DHS must immediately release Khalil, and our local elected officials must intervene in this unlawful and politically motivated detention of a New Yorker. We urge all New Yorkers to learn their rights to help prevent unlawful entries by immigration agents," he said.
