US President Donald Trump defended his detention, calling it “the first arrest of many to come.”
A federal court in Manhattan on Monday blocked the deportation of a leading Palestinian student activist, Mahmoud Khalil, from the US.
“To preserve the Court’s jurisdiction pending a ruling on the petition, Petitioner shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court orders otherwise,” US District Judge Jesse M. Furman said in his order.
A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday morning at a federal court in New York.
Khalil, a green card holder and a recent Columbia University graduate who served as a lead negotiator during the Gaza Solidarity Encampment last April, was arrested by agents of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at his university-owned residence in New York on Saturday night.
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DHS spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, said in a statement on Sunday that Khalil was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in coordination with the Department of State, and “in support of President (Donald) Trump’s executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism.”
“Khalil led activities aligned to (the Palestinian group) Hamas, a designated terrorist organization,” the statement, cited by the Anadolu news agency, added.
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Describing Khalil as a “Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student,” President Donald Trump defended his detention, calling it “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,” he stated.
“Many are not students, they are paid agitators,” he claimed, adding “We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country – never to return again.”
‘Open Repression’
Greer said ICE’s arrest and detention of Khalil “follows the U.S. government’s open repression of student activism and political speech, specifically targeting students at Columbia University for criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza.”
According to Khalil’s lawyer Amy Greer, he was “wrongfully arrested” by ICE agents who claimed “his student visa was revoked — even though Mahmoud is a legal permanent resident (green card) and not in the US on a student visa.
‘Dangerous Precedent’
The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), a civil rights and advocacy group, strongly condemned Khalil’s arrest saying it “sets a dangerous precedent.”
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“The arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, who has a green card, represents a shocking escalation in President Trump’s promise to punish constitutionally-protected speech and activism,” Afaf Nasher, Esq., Executive Director of CAIR-NY said in a statement on Monday.
“This arrest and detention because of Khalil’s advocacy on behalf of Palestinian rights sets a dangerous precedent and threatens the civil liberties of all. We call for Khalil’s immediate release and condemn any efforts to threaten the livelihoods of individuals because of their dissent.”
University’s Silence Slammed
The Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition (CPSC) has criticized the university’s “silence in the face of Mahmoud Khalil’s abduction by ICE.”
“Mahmoud’s arbitrary arrest, ordered by the State Department and carried out in his Columbia University apartment, marks a deeply troubling moment in both the fight for Palestinian liberation and the protection of all students in this country,” the CPSC said in a statement on Sunday.
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The movement said that Khalil “can have his permanent residency status ripped away without recourse, then no immigrant or international student on any American campus is safe.”
“Despite the brutality of his detention and the looming threat to his life and liberty, Columbia University – an institution that prides itself on academic freedom and the pursuit of justice – has remained disturbingly silent. This silence is not merely a failure to defend one of its own, but an endorsement of an unjust, anti-Palestinian, and politically motivated detention.”
The CPSC pointed out that Mahmoud was “an outspoken leader in advocating for Palestinian rights and free speech on campus.”
“His unwavering commitment to human rights, his character, and his academic excellence should be met with support from his university. Instead, in the face of his targeting, Columbia has chosen cooperation with fascist authorities.”
University’s Response
On Sunday, Columbia University acknowledged ICE’s reports around the campus, saying that “law enforcement must have a judicial warrant to enter non-public University areas, including University buildings.”
“Columbia is committed to complying with all legal obligations and supporting our student body and campus community,” the university said in a statement, adding it was also committed “to the legal rights of our students.”
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In another statement on Monday, the university’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, issued a lengthy statement without mentioning Khalil’s arrest saying it “exists to serve the United States and the world, by teaching, creating, and advancing knowledge.”
“We pursue that mission through freedom of expression, open inquiry, a wide range of perspectives, and respectful debate,” Armstrong continued.
She said the university would work “tirelessly” to fulfill “our mission,” and “follow the law,” and stressed that the university was “deeply committed to freedom of speech.”
Protests, Online Petition
Scores of protesters rallied in New York City on Monday to demand Khalil’s arrest.
An online petition has been launched for his immediate release.
“Columbia’s continued acquiescence to federal agencies and outside partisan institutions has made this situation possible,” the petition noted.
“Like many other Arab and Muslim students, Khalil has been the target of various zionist harassment campaigns, fueled by doxxing websites like Canary Mission. This racist targeting serves to instill fear in pro-Palestine activists as well as a warning to others,” it added.
(PC, Anadolu)
