Khalil, raised in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria and working for the British embassy in Beirut, was a lead negotiator between Columbia University officials and student demonstrators.US immigration officials arrested a Palestinian graduate student taking part i n pro-Palestinian demonstrations at New York's Columbia University, the university's student workers' union said, as reported by Reuters.
Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia School of International and Public Affairs student, was arrested by the US Department of Homeland Security at his university dormitory on Saturday, according to a statement from the Student Workers of Columbia union.
Khalil, who holds a US green card, is married to an American citizen who is eight months pregnant, the statement further said.
His arrest is also regarded as the first step taken by US President Donald Trump in fulfilling his election pledge to expel foreign students participating in pro-Palestinian protests. Trump has described similar protests as "antisemitic."
A voice for protesters
Khalil, who hails from a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria and was an employee of the British embassy in Beirut, was also a chief mediator between Columbia University officials and protesting students.
A few protesters had established encampments on campus and briefly occupied a school building last year. Khalil was not part of the occupation, however, but served as a mediator.
Just hours before his arrest, he talked to Reuters, saying he feared he was being targeted for speaking to the press.
"They effectively silenced people who were advocating for Palestine on campus, and that was not sufficient," he added. "Evidently Trump is taking the protesters out as a scapegoat for his broader agenda targeting higher education and Ivy League universities."
Khalil is detained at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) centre in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the agency's online records say. His lawyer did not answer calls for comment.
Trump administration slashes Columbia funding
One day prior to Khalil's arrest, the Trump administration declared that it was canceling government grants and contracts totaling approximately $400 million to Columbia University due to concerns regarding antisemitism on campus.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted a news article regarding Khalil's arrest on social media, writing: "We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported."
Columbia University stated it was "committed to the legal rights of our students" but refused to comment on specific cases because of privacy legislation.
Criticism and concerns
Khalil's arrest has provoked criticism from human rights groups. The New York Civil Liberties Union denounced the action as "unlawful, retaliatory, and an attack on free speech.
Executive Director Donna Lieberman added, "This is a terrifying expansion of Trump's assault on pro-Palestinian speech and a brutal misapplication of immigration law."
One other demonstrator, Palestinian-American student Maryam Alwan, reacted with outrage: "I am appalled on behalf of my good friend Mahmoud, who is a lawful resident, and I am appalled that this is just the tip of the iceberg."
Columbia University also updated its policies regarding confronting immigration officials, announcing that ICE agents lacking a judicial warrant would be granted access to private university grounds only in "exigent circumstances," although the school refused to delineate what those circumstances would look like.
The Student Workers of Columbia union condemned the university for "capitulating to the Trump administration's attack on universities and sacrificing foreign students to safeguard its bottom line." Khalil resided in university housing beyond Columbia's main campus gates.
