Newsman: Hundreds of demonstrators rallied in New York City on Monday to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil. Federal judge just steps away blocked the Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate’s removal from the United States. The Columbia University grad, who helped organize the school’s pro-Palestinian rallies, was detained Saturday night and told his student visa was being revoked, his attorney said.
Judge Jesse M. Furman said Khalil is to remain in the U.S. “to preserve the court’s jurisdiction” as the court weighs a filing challenging his arrest and planned deportation. A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday at federal court in New York City.
Khalil attended Columbia University and helped organize protests last spring about the war between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. He was arrested by federal immigration agents Saturday over what officials said was his support for a designated terror organization, Hamas.
Hundreds of demonstrators rallied in New York City on Monday to demand his release after President Donald Trump said Khalil’s was the “first arrest of many to come.”
Khalil was hauled away from his university-owned apartment Saturday night by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after he was told his student visa was being revoked, his attorney said in a statement. Attorney Amy Greer added that ICE was informed that Khalil is a permanent resident with a green card but “detained him anyway.”
The People’s Forum organized the rally at Federal Plaza in Manhattan on Monday afternoon and has demanded that Khalil be released immediately
“Hands off our students! ICE off our campuses!” the group posted on X.
Monday afternoon protesters filled the commons and quickly amassed into the hundreds, some carrying “Release Mahmoud Khalil” signs as an American Civil Liberties Union protest monitor watched.
Among the protesters were students from area City of New York University campuses, who gathered in front of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Protesters joined in unison to chant “free, free Palestine,” “ICE off our campus now,” “Release Mahmoud Khalil now,” and, the divisive and controversial “From the river to the sea” slogan.
Professors at Columbia and Barnard College, Columbia University organized a news conference following the protest on Monday.
Marianne Hirsch, Columbia professor emerita of English and comparative literature, questioned the Trump administration’s motive in Khalil’s arrest, noting that he participated in protests in support of Palestinian people in Gaza, not in support of Hamas.
“Criticism of Israel’s brutal war on Gaza can’t be equated with anti-Jewish sentiment,” said the professor, who was raised by parents who survived the Holocaust. “Pro-Palestinian speech and activism does not mean a lack of safety for Jews anywhere.”
Khalil was described by speakers on stage as a political prisoner who helped negotiate the conclusion of pro-Palestinian rallies, including a campus encampment, at Columbia. Similar protests took place at more than 40 campuses nationwide last spring
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said Khalil was arrested in coordination with ICE and the State Department “in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism” because he “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post Sunday on X that the administration would be revoking the visas and green cards “of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.”
Trump said Khalil’s arrest was the first of many to come.
“We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it,” he said on Truth Social. “Many are not students, they are paid agitators. We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again.”
The nonprofit organization Action Network launched a petition that said more than 900,000 letters had been sent calling for Khalil’s release.
Attorney Greer said her office filed a petition challenging the validity of his detention and does not know where he is being held. It was initially believed that agents took Khalil to a facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, but his wife was told he was not there when she tried to visit. His wife is a U.S. citizen and eight months pregnant.
The Department of Homeland Security website states Khalil is being held at an immigration detention facility in Jena, Louisiana.
“We will vigorously be pursuing Mahmoud’s rights in court, and will continue our efforts to right this terrible and inexcusable — and calculated — wrong committed against him,” she said.
Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition, said the arrest was a “blatantly unconstitutional act.”
“America is supposed to be a country of laws, but this act by the DHS challenges that very concept,” Awawdeh said in a statement. “DHS must immediately release Khalil, and our local elected officials must intervene in this unlawful and politically motivated detention of a New Yorker.”
The New York ACLU said Khalil’s detainment was an “extreme attack on his First Amendment rights.”
“Ripping a student from their home, challenging their immigration status, and detaining them solely based on political viewpoint will chill student speech and advocacy across campus,” a statement read. “Political speech should never be a basis for punishment, or lead to deportation.”
Columbia said Sunday in a statement that law enforcement must have a judicial warrant to enter nonpublic university areas, including campus buildings.
“Columbia is committed to complying with all legal obligations and supporting our student body and campus community,” the university said.
