Mr. Khalil, who helped lead protests at Columbia University against civilian casualties in Gaza, was arrested by immigration officers and sent to a detention center in Louisiana.
Mr. Khalil, who helped lead protests at Columbia University against civilian casualties in Gaza, was arrested by immigration officers and sent to a detention center in Louisiana.
Mr. Khalil, who helped lead protests at Columbia University against civilian casualties in Gaza, was arrested by immigration officers and sent to a detention center in Louisiana.
The Trump administration is moving to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent legal resident of the United States who recently graduated from Columbia University and had helped lead high-profile campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.
Speaking to reporters in Ireland on Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Mr. Khalil of participating in protests that he described as antisemitic and supportive of the terrorist group Hamas. Foreigners who come to the United States and do such things, he said, will have their visas or green cards revoked and be kicked out.
“This is not about free speech,” Mr. Rubio said. “This is about people that don’t have a right to be in the United States to begin with. No one has a right to a student visa. No one has a right to a green card, by the way.”
Mr. Khalil’s arrest ignited protests in New York and set up a fight over free speech. Here’s what to know about the administration’s attempt to deport him.
Who is Mahmoud Khalil?
Mr. Khalil, 30, earned a master’s degree from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs in December. He has Palestinian heritage and is married to an American citizen who is eight months pregnant.
Mr. Khalil’s lawyers say he was arrested by immigration officers on Saturday in his apartment in Manhattan even though he told the agents that he had a green card. He was then sent to a detention center in Louisiana.