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Protests Erupt Over Detention of Palestinian Activist Mahmoud Khalil in the U.S.

Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and permanent resident, faces deportation under a rarely used immigration law despite not being charged with a crime.

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Mahmoud Khalil on the Columbia University campus on Monday, April 29, 2024, and (nset) demostrators outside of a New York court on March 12 to protest the arrest and detention of Khalil, a green card holder and recent Columbia graduate who played a role in pro-Palestinian protests at the college.
TOPSHOT - Demostrators from the human rights organiztaion Jewish Voice for Peace holds a civil disobedience action inside Trump Tower in New York on March 13, 2025. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP) (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
Demonstrators from the group, Jewish Voice for Peace, protest inside Trump Tower in support of Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, Thursday, March 13, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Overview

  • Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and green card holder, was detained by ICE agents in New York and transferred to a detention facility in Louisiana.
  • The Trump administration alleges Khalil's pro-Palestinian activism, including his leadership in campus protests, aligns with Hamas, though no evidence has been presented in court.
  • Hundreds of protesters, including Jewish groups, staged sit-ins at Trump Tower and other demonstrations across the U.S., calling for Khalil’s release and condemning his detention as an attack on free speech.
  • Legal experts and Khalil’s attorneys argue his detention violates First Amendment protections and is a misuse of a foreign policy-based immigration law provision.
  • A federal judge has temporarily blocked Khalil’s deportation, and his legal team is fighting to have his case moved back to New York from Louisiana.