Federal immigration agents in the United States have arrested a Palestinian graduate student who played a prominent role in pro-Palestinian protests at the Columbia University in New York, following President Donald Trump’s pledge to deport foreign anti-Israel student demonstrators.
Mahmoud Khalil, a student of the university’s School of International and Public Affairs, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Sunday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on social media platform X. The graduate student is a Palestinian refugee who was raised in Syria.
A statement from the Student Workers of Columbia labor union (SWC) said Khalil was arrested on Saturday evening at his university residence.
DHS has alleged that Khalil led activities aligned to Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, adding that he was arrested “in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting antisemitism.”
The US, along with the German government, the EU and some Arab states, designates Hamas a terror organization.
US law forbids providing “material support or resources” to groups the country has designated as terrorist organizations.
The law does not define or prohibit “activities aligned to” these groups.
Neither ICE or DHS has said Khalil is accused of giving material support to Hamas.
