After his student visa was revoked due to his participation in pro-Hamas demonstrations, Columbia University's Student Workers Union announced on Sunday that US immigration agents had arrested Palestinian student Mahmoud Khalil, who was enrolled at the university's School of International and Public Affairs, according to a report by Reuters.
His arrest follows President Donald Trump's decision to deport foreign students involved in pro-Palestinian protest movements. Khalil was one of the main intermediaries between the university administration and the demonstrators, some of whom set up a tent encampment on Columbia's lawn last year and occupied an academic building for several hours in April before the university called in police to remove them. Khalil was not part of the group that seized the building but acted as a liaison between Columbia's vice provosts and the protesters.
Khalil grew up in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria and works at the British Embassy in Beirut. His wife is a US citizen, and he holds a Green Card for permanent residency in the US. In an interview with Reuters just hours before his arrest, he said he feared he was being targeted for speaking to the press.
Over the weekend, the Trump administration announced it was canceling government contracts and grants worth approximately $400 million awarded to Columbia University, citing antisemitism on and around the campus. "They have effectively silenced everyone who supports Palestine on campus, and even that wasn't enough. It's clear that Trump is using the protesters as scapegoats for his broader agenda to attack higher education and the Ivy League system," the report said.
