By Chris Menahan – Information Liberation
The Trump administration, which has faltered on their pledge to conduct “mass deportations” of illegal aliens, is now moving to deport critics of Israel who are in America legally.
On Saturday night, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents entered a student residential building at Columbia University in uptown New York and detained Mahmoud Khalil, one of the lead negotiators on behalf of pro-Palestine protesters at 2024’s Gaza solidarity encampment. In a sweeping attack on the First Amendment, the Trump administration said this week it would begin revoking visas of “Hamas sympathizers,” specifically citing Columbia University students. The detention followed a two-day targeted online campaign against Khalil by pro-Israel groups and individuals, including Columbia’s high-profile pro-Israel professor, Shai Davidai.
Khalil, an Algerian citizen of Palestinian origin and an American green-card holder, was detained by DHS officials around half past eight as he was entering the Columbia residential building he lives in. He was returning from an iftar, breaking the day-long fast observed by many Muslims during the month of Ramadan.
Khalil’s wife, who is eight months pregnant, was with him at the time. A statement by the pro-Palestine group Writers Against the War on Gaza (WAWOG) stated that he was “abducted and detained without the physical demonstration of a warrant or officially filed charges.” At the time of writing, Khalil is still being detained at a DHS facility in New Jersey, according to a database for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
According to WAWOG, the DHS agents told Khalil that the U.S. Department of State had revoked his student visa. The group said this was “despite the fact that he has a green card, not a visa, and is a lawful permanent resident.”
In response to a request for comment from Drop Site, the DHS stated, “You need to reach out to the White House.”
From AP, ICE arrests Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University protests, his lawyer says:
The arrest comes as President Donald Trump vows to deport foreign students and imprison “agitators” involved in protests against Israel’s war in Gaza. The administration has placed particular scrutiny on Columbia, announcing Friday that it would be cutting $400 million in grants and contracts because of what the government describes as the Ivy League school’s failure to squelch antisemitism on campus.
The authorities declined to tell Khalil’s wife, who is eight months pregnant, why he was being detained, Greer said. Khalil has since been transferred to an immigration detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
“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 on its threats.”
The Israeli doxing outfit Canary Mission put Khalil in their crosshairs earlier this week:
The Jewish activist group Betar, who also pushed for Khalil to be deported, celebrated his arrest and suggested the next “true challenge” is to have Americans arrested for criticizing Israel.
The Trump administration earlier this week suspended deportation flights for illegal aliens using military aircraft for being too “expensive” but evidently no expenses are being spared when it comes to going after anti-Israel protesters here legally on green cards.
As a reminder, Trump told a group of Tech Bros while running for president that he wants to staple green cards to diplomas (to help them get cheap Indian labor) and after winning the presidency endorsed Elon Musk’s plans for mass “legal” immigration from India, but allowing critics of Israel into America is apparently a step too far.
UPDATE: Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirms this is political: