Arrest of Palestinian protester shows an increase in deportations
ICE arrest of the pro-Palestinian activist Mohammed Khalil, a spokesman for the New York City immigration court
ICE agents arrested the pro-Palestinian activist at his university-owned apartment building in New York City on Saturday. He earned his masters degree from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. He’s now being held more than a thousand miles away from his wife, who is eight months pregnant, in a jail in Louisiana.
The arrest follows through on one of President Trump’s executive actions, which directed the government to use all of its tools to punish those who have engaged in “antisemitic harassment and violence.” The federal law that allows the deportation of foreign nationals who support terrorist activity is cited in the executive action.
The new administration wants to strip protections from those who are in the U.S. illegally and increase deportations.
Michael Thaddeus, a mathematics professor at Columbia University, said the move seeking to strip Khalil’s green card and deport him violates the broader trust from foreign students who come to study in the U.S.
“They come because of their trust and belief that they could speak out freely while they’re here and not be imprisoned or harassed because [of] their political speech or activism or advocacy,” Thaddeus said.
“I demanded to see a warrant or have a warrant shown to me or Mr. Khalil before they removed him, and the agent hung up the phone on me,” Greer said. “Mr. Khalil was under the impression that as a lawful permanent resident, that he had some modicum of protection that may not exist for people who do have student visas or who are undocumented.”
“If I have a permanent resident in removal proceedings, most of the time it’s because of a criminal activity,” said Kelli Stump, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, adding that once placed in immigration proceedings only an immigration judge can revoke the green card.
“The government bears the burden of proving the reason that this person is deportable from the United States. Depending on what ground we’re looking at, that’s where the fight begins.
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio linked to a story in which he wrote that the administration would be expelling Hamas supporters if they continued to have visas.
Mahmoud’s right: Standing up for the rights of a criminal suspect and Khalil’s judicial branching procedure
“We will vigorously be pursuing Mahmoud’s rights in court, and will continue our efforts to right this terrible and inexcusable – and calculated – wrong committed against him,” Greer said in a later statement.
Several groups planned rallies in Manhattan on Monday in protest of Khalil’s arrest. While the campus community was surprised that ICE’s first target would be someone with a green card, they were a little bit surprised that the person had no legal status.
“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,” it said in a statement on Sunday.
During Trump’s first term, he took steps towards limiting visas for foreign nationals and revoking people’s immigration status, including denaturalization, or cancelling someone’s status as a naturalized U.S. citizen.
But immigration law experts have said that the number of people who might lie on forms is very small compared to the millions of people who are naturalized or receive green cards each year.
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Why is Khalil reportedly detained at an immigration facility in New Jersey, and why is he’s staying there, writes Art Markman
Whether you’re considering a new career or moving to a different city, there are exercises that can help you make difficult decisions more clearly. Art Markman says the key is to be curious and realize that life can be more interesting than you thought. If you’re ready to make a big decision, grab a pen, a notebook and a calendar and answer these prompts from Life Kit’s experts.
McLaughlin said that the arrest was linked to the protests as he claimed that the man led activities aligned to Hamas.
As ICE agents arrived at Khalil’s Manhattan residence Saturday night, they also threatened to arrest Khalil’s wife, an American citizen who is eight months pregnant, Greer said.
They were told at the time that he was being held at an immigration facility in New Jersey. But when his wife tried to visit Sunday, she learned he was not there. As of Sunday night, she still didn’t know Khalil’s location.
“We have not been able to get any more details about why he is being detained,” Greer told the AP. “This is a clear escalation. The administration is following through with threats.
A Columbia University spokesperson said law enforcement agents must produce a warrant before entering university property, but declined to say if the school had received one ahead of Khalil’s arrest. The spokesperson declined to comment on Khalil’s detention.
Immigration Lawyers are Trying to Shut Down Pro-Israelism, as the Trump Administration Is Doing with the Gaza Protest at Columbia University
The Department of Homeland Security can initiate deportation proceedings against green card holders for a broad range of alleged criminal activity, including supporting a terror group. But the detention of a legal permanent resident who has not been charged with a crime marked an extraordinary move with an uncertain legal foundation, according to immigration experts.
“This has the appearance of a retaliatory action against someone who expressed an opinion the Trump administration didn’t like,” said Camille Mackler, founder of Immigrant ARC, a coalition of legal service providers in New York.
Khalil, who received his master’s degree from Columbia’s school of international affairs last semester, served as a negotiator for students as they bargained with university officials over an end to the tent encampment erected on campus last spring.
The role made him one of the most visible activists in support of the movement, prompting calls from pro-Israel activists in recent weeks for the Trump administration to begin deportation proceedings against him.
Columbia University was threatened with hundreds of millions of dollars in funding being cut by the Trump administration because it failed to keep its campus free of antisemitism.
“They just want to show Congress and right-wing politicians that they are doing something, even if it means losing some students,” he said. “It’s mainly an office to chill pro-Palestine speech.”
A federal judge in New York will hear important questions in the case of the leader of Gaza solidarity protests at Columbia University who faces deportation after being arrested by immigration agents.
The court has set a hearing for Wednesday, where the judge will have to decide if it’s appropriate for Khalil to remain in the United States.
“You’re not a U.S. citizen, but you’re the next level down, meaning that you have the rights to live, work, travel in the United States,” says Kelli Stump, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Cole successfully represented Palestinians in a lengthy First Amendment case and says that the First Amendment does not differentiate between citizens and non-citizens.
“For people who are not citizens, there is a risk in protesting depending on how the protest is interpreted,” said Dzubow, who is a partner at Murray Osorio.
In his view, it’s unclear exactly where the government might draw a line between publicly espousing pro-Palestinian views and what it views as supporting terrorism.
Trump said Khalil’s case is the first of many to come. He vowed, “We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again.”
A “Civil” Immigration Law That’s not a Criminal Law: Why Detainees have Fewer Defenses than Criminals
The government has a lot of power in the immigration law because it is a civil law not a criminal law, Dzubow says. “There’s less defense.”
A civil case might not sound as imposing as a criminal case. The stakes can be just as high for civil defendants as they are for criminal defendants, he says.
Such detainees don’t have the right to an attorney, for instance, meaning that while they can pay for their own lawyer, the government isn’t obliged to provide them with one.
Dzubow says there’s less protection available for a green card holder. He doesn’t have to have a criminal conviction in order to be deported.
The distance isolates detainees from loved ones, support systems and lawyers, Dzubow says, making it a bigger challenge to gather evidence and witnesses that might help a detainee’s case.
He also suggested the move could be a type of what’s called “forum shopping,” in which a party seeks a favorable court venue. In a deportation case, lawyers might refer to the TRAC Immigration website which tracks how often immigration judges deny asylum.
Announcing the arrest of a Pro-Palestinian protest leader at the Columbia University, an ongoing investigation by the Center for Constitutional Rights
Columbia was a site of significant political division in the student body due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators staged protests on the campus last fall that caused the university to move its classes completely remote for the rest of the spring term.
Khalil’s arrest came just a day after the administration canceled $400 million in federal grants to Columbia, saying the school failed to curb antisemitism on its campus.
He said he had never done anything other than advocate for the human rights of Palestinians and try to draw attention to the issue of genocide against Palestinians. The executive branch does not have the power to decide what is offensive and what is not. That principle couldn’t be more central to American democracy.”
Baher Azmy is the legal director at the Center for Constitutional Rights, one of the groups representing Khalil. In an interview with NPR, he characterized Khalil’s arrest as a “chilling use of executive power,” and rejected claims that Khalil engaged in activity that could be deemed antisemitic.
ICE agents arrested him at his apartment on Saturday and he’s currently being held in a jail in Louisiana.
While Leavitt did not offer an estimate of how many additional arrests could be coming, she said she knew that “DHS is actively working on it.” Leavitt noted that Columbia had been given names of other individuals on campus “who have engaged in pro-Hamas activity,” but said the school has refused to help DHS.
“Since the President signed that executive order, and since Secretary [Kristi] Noem has taken the oath at DHS, they have been using intelligence to identify individuals on our nation’s colleges and universities, on our college campuses, who have engaged in such behavior and activity, and especially illegal activity,” Leavitt said.
The White House supports the arrest of a pro-Palestinian protest leader and says that the Department of Homeland Security will arrest more protesters.
