Detention of Mahmoud Khalil

On March 9, Greer said she was uncertain of Khalil's whereabouts, but that he could be as far away as [[Louisiana]].<ref name="Shapiro-2025" /><ref name="Chappell 2025" /> Abdalla, who was eight months pregnant at the time, sought to visit him at a detention center in New Jersey, but was told he was not there.<ref name="Shapiro-2025" /> Khalil was ultimately detained at the [[LaSalle Detention Center]] in [[Jena, Louisiana]].<ref name="Chappell 2025">{{cite news |last1=Chappell |first1=Bill |title=Mahmoud Khalil case goes to court, spotlighting green card holders' rights |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/03/11/nx-s1-5323147/mahmoud-khalil-green-card-rights |access-date=March 13, 2025 |work=[[NPR]] |date=March 12, 2025 |language=en}}</ref> In a court document, his lawyers later stated he had felt like he was being kidnapped.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Neumeister |first=Larry |date=March 14, 2025 |title=The Justice Department is investigating whether Columbia University hid students sought by US |url=https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-mahmoud-khalil-ice-arrests-3a8db6e646b786a721089a6f0bc8d9fc |access-date=March 14, 2025 |website=AP News |language=en |archive-date=March 14, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250314204904/https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-mahmoud-khalil-ice-arrests-3a8db6e646b786a721089a6f0bc8d9fc |url-status=live }}</ref> He dictated an [[open letter]] over the phone from detention, saying he was a [[political prisoner]] and that the case against him was "part of a broader strategy to suppress dissent" by the Trump administration.<ref>{{Cite web |last=El-Fekki |first=Amira |date=March 19, 2025 |title=Mahmoud Khalil's letter from detention in full |url=https://www.newsweek.com/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-hamas-gaza-israel-letter-2047002 |access-date=March 20, 2025 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}</ref>

On March 9, Greer said she was uncertain of Khalil's whereabouts, but that he could be as far away as [[Louisiana]].<ref name="Shapiro-2025" /><ref name="Chappell 2025" /> Abdalla, who was eight months pregnant at the time, sought to visit him at a detention center in New Jersey, but was told he was not there.<ref name="Shapiro-2025" /> Khalil was ultimately detained at the [[LaSalle Detention Center]] in [[Jena, Louisiana]].<ref name="Chappell 2025">{{cite news |last1=Chappell |first1=Bill |title=Mahmoud Khalil case goes to court, spotlighting green card holders' rights |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/03/11/nx-s1-5323147/mahmoud-khalil-green-card-rights |access-date=March 13, 2025 |work=[[NPR]] |date=March 12, 2025 |language=en}}</ref> In a court document, his lawyers later stated he had felt like he was being kidnapped.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Neumeister |first=Larry |date=March 14, 2025 |title=The Justice Department is investigating whether Columbia University hid students sought by US |url=https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-mahmoud-khalil-ice-arrests-3a8db6e646b786a721089a6f0bc8d9fc |access-date=March 14, 2025 |website=AP News |language=en |archive-date=March 14, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250314204904/https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-mahmoud-khalil-ice-arrests-3a8db6e646b786a721089a6f0bc8d9fc |url-status=live }}</ref> He dictated an [[open letter]] over the phone from detention, saying he was a [[political prisoner]] and that the case against him was "part of a broader strategy to suppress dissent" by the Trump administration.<ref>{{Cite web |last=El-Fekki |first=Amira |date=March 19, 2025 |title=Mahmoud Khalil's letter from detention in full |url=https://www.newsweek.com/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-hamas-gaza-israel-letter-2047002 |access-date=March 20, 2025 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}</ref>

Court documents later revealed that the ICE agents did not have a warrant during Khalil's arrest, but had been notified by ICE Enforcement Removal Operations that a charge of removability "had been approved" by the Secretary of State.<ref name=":18">{{Cite news |last=Svrluga |first=Susan |date=April 25, 2025 |title=ICE arrested Columbia protester without a warrant, court documents show |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/04/24/ice-arrest-mahmoud-khalil-no-warrant/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250425140710/https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/04/24/ice-arrest-mahmoud-khalil-no-warrant/ |archive-date=April 25, 2025 |access-date=April 25, 2025 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> Attorneys for the government alleged that after Abdalla went to the apartment to retrieve his paperwork, Khalil was uncooperative and told the agents he would leave the scene.<ref name=":18" /> They alleged that the ICE agents thus had reason to believe he would escape, an [[exigent circumstance]] that allowed them to arrest Khalil inside the building lobby without a warrant.<ref name=":18" /> A [[Department of Homeland Security]] official said, "When he tried to walk away, he was arrested. An [[administrative arrest]] warrant was executed at the time of his booking, as is the custom."<ref name=":18" /> A lawyer for Khalil said the government was "fatuously lying" and that there was "no reason they couldn't get a warrant".<ref name=":18" />

Court documents later revealed that the ICE agents did not have a warrant during Khalil's arrest, but had been notified by ICE Enforcement Removal Operations that a charge of removability "had been approved" by the Secretary of State.<ref name=":18">{{Cite news |last=Svrluga |first=Susan |date=April 25, 2025 |title=ICE arrested Columbia protester without a warrant, court documents show |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/04/24/ice-arrest-mahmoud-khalil-no-warrant/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250425140710/https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/04/24/ice-arrest-mahmoud-khalil-no-warrant/ |archive-date=April 25, 2025 |access-date=April 25, 2025 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> Attorneys for the government alleged that after Abdalla went to the apartment to retrieve his paperwork, Khalil was uncooperative and told the agents he would leave the scene.<ref name=":18" /> They alleged that the ICE agents thus had reason to believe he would escape, an [[exigent circumstance]] that allowed them to arrest Khalil inside the building lobby without a warrant.<ref name=":18" /> A [[Department of Homeland Security]] (DHS) official said, "When he tried to walk away, he was arrested. An [[administrative arrest]] warrant was executed at the time of his booking, as is the custom."<ref name=":18" /> A lawyer for Khalil said the government was "fatuously lying" and that there was "no reason they couldn't get a warrant".<ref name=":18" />

== Khalil's statements from detention ==

== Khalil's statements from detention ==

The Trump administration defended its actions, with Secretary of State [[Marco Rubio]] announcing plans to revoke more people's visas or green cards.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sainato |first=Michael |date=March 10, 2025 |title=Rubio and homeland security confirm arrest of Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia protests |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/10/palestinian-activist-columbia-arrest-ice |access-date=March 10, 2025 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

The Trump administration defended its actions, with Secretary of State [[Marco Rubio]] announcing plans to revoke more people's visas or green cards.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sainato |first=Michael |date=March 10, 2025 |title=Rubio and homeland security confirm arrest of Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia protests |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/10/palestinian-activist-columbia-arrest-ice |access-date=March 10, 2025 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

[[Department of Homeland Security]] deputy secretary [[Troy Edgar]] defended the detention. When asked to explain what conduct merited Khalil's removal from the U.S., and specifically how Khalil had supported Hamas, Edgar said, "I think if he would have declared he's a terrorist, we would have never let him in", repeatedly referring to Khalil as a visa-holder despite having been corrected that he is a legal permanent resident.<ref name="nprmartin">{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Michel |date=March 13, 2025 |title=DHS official defends Mahmoud Khalil arrest, but offers few details on why it happened |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/03/13/nx-s1-5326015/mahmoud-khalil-deportation-arrests-trump |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250313173601/https://www.npr.org/2025/03/13/nx-s1-5326015/mahmoud-khalil-deportation-arrests-trump |archive-date=March 13, 2025 |access-date=March 13, 2025 |work=[[NPR]]}}</ref><ref name="cdreams">{{cite news |last1=Conley |first1=Julia |title=DHS Official Explicitly Equates Protest to Terrorism in 'Stunning' Interview |url=https://www.commondreams.org/news/deportation-protest |access-date=March 13, 2025 |publisher=[[Common Dreams]] |date=March 13, 2025}}</ref> [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement|ICE]] executive associate director for enforcement and removal operations [[Tom Homan]] said Khalil is a national security threat.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/pro-palestinian-activist-mahmoud-khalil-expected-court-after/story?id=119704821|title=Border czar calls detained Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil a 'national security threat'|publisher=ABC|date=March 12, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2025/03/12/tom-homan-albany-visit-escalates-tension-over-immigration-policy|title='Border czar' Tom Homan Albany visit escalates White House attack on New York immigration policies|publisher=Spectrum News 1 Central New York|date=March 12, 2025}}</ref>

DHS deputy secretary [[Troy Edgar]] defended the detention. When asked to explain what conduct merited Khalil's removal from the U.S., and specifically how Khalil had supported Hamas, Edgar said, "I think if he would have declared he's a terrorist, we would have never let him in", repeatedly referring to Khalil as a visa-holder despite having been corrected that he is a legal permanent resident.<ref name="nprmartin">{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Michel |date=March 13, 2025 |title=DHS official defends Mahmoud Khalil arrest, but offers few details on why it happened |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/03/13/nx-s1-5326015/mahmoud-khalil-deportation-arrests-trump |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250313173601/https://www.npr.org/2025/03/13/nx-s1-5326015/mahmoud-khalil-deportation-arrests-trump |archive-date=March 13, 2025 |access-date=March 13, 2025 |work=[[NPR]]}}</ref><ref name="cdreams">{{cite news |last1=Conley |first1=Julia |title=DHS Official Explicitly Equates Protest to Terrorism in 'Stunning' Interview |url=https://www.commondreams.org/news/deportation-protest |access-date=March 13, 2025 |publisher=[[Common Dreams]] |date=March 13, 2025}}</ref> [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement|ICE]] executive associate director for enforcement and removal operations [[Tom Homan]] said Khalil is a national security threat.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/pro-palestinian-activist-mahmoud-khalil-expected-court-after/story?id=119704821|title=Border czar calls detained Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil a 'national security threat'|publisher=ABC|date=March 12, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2025/03/12/tom-homan-albany-visit-escalates-tension-over-immigration-policy|title='Border czar' Tom Homan Albany visit escalates White House attack on New York immigration policies|publisher=Spectrum News 1 Central New York|date=March 12, 2025}}</ref>

An [[NBC News]] analysis of documents related to the case found that the government relied on unverified [[tabloid journalism]] and made "clearly erroneous" claims about Khalil's work history.<ref name=tabloid/>

An [[NBC News]] analysis of documents related to the case found that the government relied on unverified [[tabloid journalism]] and made "clearly erroneous" claims about Khalil's work history.<ref name=tabloid/>

On March 24, several victims of the [[October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel]] in 2023 sued four organizations associated with the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia: [[Within Our Lifetime|Within Our Lifetime – United for Palestine]], Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, Columbia–Barnard Jewish Voice for Peace, and Columbia University Apartheid Divest. Several students described as the organizations' leaders, including Khalil, were named as defendants. The suit alleges that the defendants coordinated with Hamas, served as its "propaganda arm", and had foreknowledge of the Hamas-led attack in 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stempel |first=Jonathan |date=March 24, 2025 |title=Lawsuit Says Palestinian Advocates at Columbia University Further Hamas' Propaganda |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/lawsuit-says-palestinian-advocates-columbia-university-further-hamas-propaganda-2025-03-25/ |access-date=March 25, 2025 |work=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Starr |first=Michael |date=March 25, 2025 |title=Anti-Israel groups aided Hamas on campus, knew of attack beforehand, Oct. 7 victims say in lawsuit |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-847484 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250325082846/https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-847484 |archive-date=March 25, 2025 |access-date=March 28, 2025 |website=The Jerusalem Post |language=en |quote=Leading US-based anti-Israel activist groups, including Columbia University Apartheid Divest and Within Our Lifetime, and heads like Mahmoud Khalil had prior knowledge of the October 7 Massacre [...]}}</ref> A National Jewish Advocacy Center attorney denied that the deportation order had influenced the lawsuit's timing.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cohen |first=Benyamin |date=March 25, 2025 |title=Oct. 7 victims sue Columbia student groups and protest leaders, alleging Hamas support |url=https://forward.com/fast-forward/707269/columbia-sjp-cuad-mahmoud-khalil-lawsuit/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250328014704/https://forward.com/fast-forward/707269/columbia-sjp-cuad-mahmoud-khalil-lawsuit/ |archive-date=March 28, 2025 |access-date=March 28, 2025 |website=The Forward |language=en |quote=Arielle Klepach, an attorney with the National Jewish Advocacy Center, said Khalil had drawn attention from their legal team 'because of his leadership role' in campus protests—scrutiny that predated his detention by immigration authorities.}}</ref>

On March 24, several victims of the [[October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel]] in 2023 sued four organizations associated with the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia: [[Within Our Lifetime|Within Our Lifetime – United for Palestine]], Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, Columbia–Barnard Jewish Voice for Peace, and Columbia University Apartheid Divest. Several students described as the organizations' leaders, including Khalil, were named as defendants. The suit alleges that the defendants coordinated with Hamas, served as its "propaganda arm", and had foreknowledge of the Hamas-led attack in 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stempel |first=Jonathan |date=March 24, 2025 |title=Lawsuit Says Palestinian Advocates at Columbia University Further Hamas' Propaganda |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/lawsuit-says-palestinian-advocates-columbia-university-further-hamas-propaganda-2025-03-25/ |access-date=March 25, 2025 |work=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Starr |first=Michael |date=March 25, 2025 |title=Anti-Israel groups aided Hamas on campus, knew of attack beforehand, Oct. 7 victims say in lawsuit |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-847484 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250325082846/https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-847484 |archive-date=March 25, 2025 |access-date=March 28, 2025 |website=The Jerusalem Post |language=en |quote=Leading US-based anti-Israel activist groups, including Columbia University Apartheid Divest and Within Our Lifetime, and heads like Mahmoud Khalil had prior knowledge of the October 7 Massacre [...]}}</ref> A National Jewish Advocacy Center attorney denied that the deportation order had influenced the lawsuit's timing.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cohen |first=Benyamin |date=March 25, 2025 |title=Oct. 7 victims sue Columbia student groups and protest leaders, alleging Hamas support |url=https://forward.com/fast-forward/707269/columbia-sjp-cuad-mahmoud-khalil-lawsuit/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250328014704/https://forward.com/fast-forward/707269/columbia-sjp-cuad-mahmoud-khalil-lawsuit/ |archive-date=March 28, 2025 |access-date=March 28, 2025 |website=The Forward |language=en |quote=Arielle Klepach, an attorney with the National Jewish Advocacy Center, said Khalil had drawn attention from their legal team 'because of his leadership role' in campus protests—scrutiny that predated his detention by immigration authorities.}}</ref>

On July 7, Khalil filed a $20{{Spaces|1}}million administrative suit against the Trump administration, alleging "false arrest and imprisonment, malicious prosecution, [and] intentional infliction of emotional distress" intended to punish his speech. The [[Center for Constitutional Rights]], which represents him, said that if he wins the suit, he would use the funds to support other immigrants against whom the administration had taken similar actions, and that an "official apology and abandonment of the administration's unconstitutional policy" would be an acceptable alternative. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin rejected the allegations, and condemned him as antisemitic.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Garcia |first=Armando |date=2025-07-11 |title=Mahmoud Khalil seeks $20M from the Trump administration -- or an apology |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/mahmoud-khalil-seeks-20m-trump-administration-apology/story?id=123660206 |access-date=2025-07-11 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref>

== Reactions ==

== Reactions ==

After Khalil's arrest, demonstrations protesting his detention were held in New York City,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Acevedo |first1=Nicole |date=March 10, 2025 |title=Judge says Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil can't be deported from U.S. as protesters call for his release |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/demonstrators-take-nycs-federal-plaza-mahmoud-khalil-arrested-ice-rcna195602 |access-date=March 10, 2025 |publisher=[[NBC News]] |archive-date=March 11, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250311003738/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/demonstrators-take-nycs-federal-plaza-mahmoud-khalil-arrested-ice-rcna195602 |url-status=live }}</ref> and within a few days, an [[online petition]] calling for his release had received more than three million signatures.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rahman |first=Billal |date=March 13, 2025 |title=Mahmoud Khalil petition more popular than $2,000 stimulus checks |url=https://www.newsweek.com/mahmoud-khalil-petition-more-popular-overtakes-2000-stimulus-checks-2043685 |access-date=March 16, 2025 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}</ref> Other rallies were held at Federal Plaza in Chicago and at [[Stanford University]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Burke |first=Minyvonne |date=March 11, 2025 |title=Protesters demand release of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil as judge blocks deportation |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/protesters-demand-release-palestinian-activist-mahmoud-khalil-judge-bl-rcna195786 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250311172533/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/protesters-demand-release-palestinian-activist-mahmoud-khalil-judge-bl-rcna195786 |archive-date=March 11, 2025 |access-date=March 11, 2025 |publisher=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>

After Khalil's arrest, demonstrations protesting his detention were held in New York City,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Acevedo |first1=Nicole |date=March 10, 2025 |title=Judge says Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil can't be deported from U.S. as protesters call for his release |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/demonstrators-take-nycs-federal-plaza-mahmoud-khalil-arrested-ice-rcna195602 |access-date=March 10, 2025 |publisher=[[NBC News]] |archive-date=March 11, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250311003738/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/demonstrators-take-nycs-federal-plaza-mahmoud-khalil-arrested-ice-rcna195602 |url-status=live }}</ref> and within a few days, an [[online petition]] calling for his release had received more than three million signatures.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rahman |first=Billal |date=March 13, 2025 |title=Mahmoud Khalil petition more popular than $2,000 stimulus checks |url=https://www.newsweek.com/mahmoud-khalil-petition-more-popular-overtakes-2000-stimulus-checks-2043685 |access-date=March 16, 2025 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}</ref> Other rallies were held at Federal Plaza in Chicago and at [[Stanford University]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Burke |first=Minyvonne |date=March 11, 2025 |title=Protesters demand release of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil as judge blocks deportation |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/protesters-demand-release-palestinian-activist-mahmoud-khalil-judge-bl-rcna195786 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250311172533/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/protesters-demand-release-palestinian-activist-mahmoud-khalil-judge-bl-rcna195786 |archive-date=March 11, 2025 |access-date=March 11, 2025 |publisher=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>

Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression legal director Will Creeley called [[Department of Homeland Security]] deputy secretary [[Troy Edgar]]'s [[NPR]] interview defending Khalil's detention "stunning" and said his "conflation of protest and terrorism stopped me cold".<ref name="cdreams" /> ''[[Washington Post]]'' columnist [[Shadi Hamid]] wrote that the interview was the latest confirmation from the Trump administration that "Khalil's arrest has no basis".<ref name="cdreams" /> In ''[[The Nation]]'', Dima Khalidi described the administration's actions as [[McCarthyism|McCarthyist]] [[red-baiting]] that [[Weaponization of antisemitism|weaponize antisemitism]].<ref name=":72">{{Cite news |last=Khalidi |first=Dima |date=March 11, 2025 |title=Mahmoud Khalil's Abduction Is a Red Alert for Universities |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/society/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-trump-universities/ |access-date=March 14, 2025 |language=en-US |issn=0027-8378 |archive-date=March 12, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250312210402/https://www.thenation.com/article/society/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-trump-universities/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression legal director Will Creeley called DHS deputy secretary [[Troy Edgar]]'s [[NPR]] interview defending Khalil's detention "stunning" and said his "conflation of protest and terrorism stopped me cold".<ref name="cdreams" /> ''[[Washington Post]]'' columnist [[Shadi Hamid]] wrote that the interview was the latest confirmation from the Trump administration that "Khalil's arrest has no basis".<ref name="cdreams" /> In ''[[The Nation]]'', Dima Khalidi described the administration's actions as [[McCarthyism|McCarthyist]] [[red-baiting]] that [[Weaponization of antisemitism|weaponize antisemitism]].<ref name=":72">{{Cite news |last=Khalidi |first=Dima |date=March 11, 2025 |title=Mahmoud Khalil's Abduction Is a Red Alert for Universities |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/society/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-trump-universities/ |access-date=March 14, 2025 |language=en-US |issn=0027-8378 |archive-date=March 12, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250312210402/https://www.thenation.com/article/society/mahmoud-khalil-columbia-trump-universities/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Ethnic and religion-based organizations ===

=== Ethnic and religion-based organizations ===