Columbia University is dealing with the fallout from a weekend arrest of one of its alumni, who was still living in school-owned housing just blocks from campus.
The Associated Press says Mahmoud Khalil was stopped by ICE agents Saturday evening with his wife, who is a U.S. citizen. One of the agents reportedly told his lawyer Amy Greer by phone they were executing an order to revoke his student visa. When Greer clarified he was actually a green card holder, she was reportedly told they were revoking that, too.
The Department of Homeland Security says Khalil led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.
Khalil has been one of the most prominent faces on Columbia's campus since protests began, serving as lead negotiator during protests last spring.
He reportedly told the BBC he was suspended during last April's protests, but had it reversed.
Video shows Khalil was on campus during recent protests, despite graduating last semester and Columbia having a strict policy allowing only students on campus.
According to his LinkedIn profile, he studied in Lebanon before coming to the United States and also worked for UNRWA, the UN's agency that supports Palestinian refugees.
Various organizations have already expressed outrage over Khalil's arrest, saying he's being punished for political speech.
"The remarks by government officials, including the President, on social media only confirm the purpose – and illegality – of Mahmoud's detention," his attorney said in a statement Monday. "He was chosen as an example to stifle entirely lawful dissent in violation of the First Amendment."
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All of this comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday foreign nationals who voice support for terrorist organizations face visa denial, revocation and deportation, following Trump's January 29th executive order stating the same. The administration has been hitting Columbia University hard for what it says has allowed free speech to turn into antisemitism. The government withdrew $400 million in grants to the school Friday.
Former ACLU National Director Burt Neuborne says if the arrest is about the content of the protest it would be a violation of the First Amendment.
"As with so much of what Trump does, there's a murkiness to it, because he will be saying, 'Oh no, no, no, I'm not doing this because I disagree with content. I'm doing it because I disagree because the protests that they are tolerating and permitting are keeping other Columbia students from enjoying their rights on the college campus,'" Neuborne said.
Trump posted on social media, saying to the protestors "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 warned Monday that Khalil's arrest and possible deportation would be just the first "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,” Trump wrote on social media. “We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again.”
A federal judge on Monday ruled that Khalil could not be deported due to the ongoing legal challenge by his attorneys. A hearing has been set for Wednesday.
Khalil was initially thought to have been brought to downtown Manhattan and then to Elizabeth, New Jersey. But a search on ICE's detainee locator system shows a man with his name and origins in Syria where he was born and raised being detained in Louisiana.
Khalil's attorney confirmed he was held in Louisiana on Monday, calling his transfer there "blatantly improper."
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