A judge has blocked the deportation of the prominent Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia Universityâs protests against Israel over the war in Gaza. Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia University until this past December who holds permanent US residency, is being detained by US immigration authorities at a facility in Louisiana after his arrest, according to information from officials.
A spokesperson for the USâs homeland security department â as well as the countryâs top diplomat â confirmed the arrest. In a statement to the Associated Press, a homeland security department spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, said Khalilâs arrest was made to support Donald Trumpâs presidential orders âprohibiting antisemitismâ.
The department alleged that Khalilâs activism constituted âactivities aligned to Hamasâ.
Trumpâs secretary of state, Marco Rubio, also confirmed the arrest, adding on X: âWe will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.â
Jesse M Furman, an Obama-appointed judge in New Yorkâs southern district, announced the block in an order on Monday amid protests over Khalilâs arrest.
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries called on the department of homeland security on Monday evening to âproduce facts and evidence of criminal activityâ.
âAbsent evidence of a crime, such as providing material support for a terrorist organization, the actions undertaken by the Trump administration are wildly inconsistent with the United States constitution,â Jeffriesâ statement read.
Khalil served as lead negotiator for the Gaza solidarity encampment at Columbia University last spring. On Monday, an online tracker administered by the USâs Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) indicated he was at the LaSalle detention center near the central Louisiana community of Jena. The facility is operated by the private contractor GEO Group.
According to Zeteo, which first reported on the arrest, Khalilâs attorneys did not immediately know where he was being detained. The same tracker showing Khalil in custody in Louisiana on Monday indicated on Sunday that he was at an immigration detention center in New Jersey.
But when Khalilâs wife, a US citizen who is eight months pregnant, attempted to visit him at the New Jersey center, she was reportedly told he was not there.
Khalil was detained by Ice agents despite having a green card and therefore being a permanent US resident. Khalilâs attorney said Ice agents hung up the phone during the detention when she asked if they had a warrant.
âThe Trump administrationâs outrageous detention of Mahmoud is designed to instill terror in students speaking out for Palestinian freedom and immigrant communities,â said Jewish Voice for Peace in a statement on the arrest. âThis is the fascist playbook. We all must fiercely reject it, and universities must start protecting its students.â
Trump has vowed to target foreign students for deportations as well as âagitatorsâ involved in protests on US college and university campuses. The second Trump administration has made a specific focus of Columbia University, recently announcing the cancellation of $400m in grants over claims the school isnât doing enough to combat antisemitism.
A Zionist activist group, Betar USA, claimed credit for releasing Khalilâs name to the Trump administration, praising his detention. The Anti-Defamation League has listed the group as a hate group â the only Jewish group on the list.
âThis blatantly unconstitutional act sends a deplorable message that freedom of speech is no longer protected in America,â Murad Awawdeh, president and chief executive of New York Immigration Coalition, said in a statement on Sunday afternoon.
âFurthermore, Khalil and all people living in the United States are afforded due process.
âA green card can only be revoked by an immigration judge, showing once again that the Trump administration is willing to ignore the law in order to instill fear and further its racist agenda. DHS must immediately release Khalil.â
AbenĂŠ Clayton contributed to this report