46 h. ago Columbia alumni rip up diplomas to protest activist Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest

Group of Sipa graduates demonstrate against government’s jailing of graduate student, who spoke up for PalestiniansA handful of alumni from Columbia University’s school of international and public affairs (Sipa) ripped their diplomas in a show of protest against the federal government’s jailing of graduate student Mahmoud Khalil’s over his activism for Palestinians.On Saturday, instead of participating in the university’s annual Sipa alumni day, a few dozen alumni and students gathered outside campus as part of a protest organized by Sipa’s and Barnard Alumni for Palestine groups. Continue reading...

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1 week ago ‘I could be next’: international students at Columbia University feel ‘targeted’ after Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest

For students who aren’t US citizens, a new reality includes feelings of surveillance, fears of being arrested and reluctance to visit familyIt was 4am and a Columbia University master’s student two months away from graduation lay awake in bed. His heart thumped so hard, his chest began to hurt. His hands got colder and colder; he was unable to speak. This had become an agonizing nightly routine for the 24-year-old from India since 8 March, when immigration officials handcuffed the Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil and took him into detention in Louisiana.“What scares me the most is that I would be fast asleep at home and I would hear a bang on my door and I’d be taken away in the middle of the night by Ice and nobody will ever know what happened to me,” said the student, who attended multiple protests to support Palestine around New York City. “It feels as if people are getting targeted for just speaking up for their political views last year.” Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Mahmoud Khalil feared the U.S. would immediately deport him after his arrest, new court filings show

Although one ICE official said Khalil had been transferred from a New Jersey facility due to bedbugs, Khalil said in his hours-long detention there, he heard no mention of bedbugs

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2 w. ago White House asked for update after ‘retaliatory’ arrest of Columbia grad Mahmoud Khalil, his lawyers say

Attorneys argue Trump administration violated Khalil’s First Amendment rights by retaliating against constitutionally protected speech

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2 w. ago Mahmoud Khalil ‘felt as though he was being kidnapped’, lawyers say

Lawyers demand in updated lawsuit that Columbia University graduate be released from custodyMahmoud Khalil felt as though he was being kidnapped when he was handcuffed and shackled and rushed from New York to immigration detention in Louisiana last weekend, his lawyers wrote in an updated lawsuit demanding that the Columbia University graduate be released from custody immediately.The activist has told his lawyers that agents who arrested him at his university housing last Saturday night, in front of his eight-month pregnant wife, never identified themselves. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Mahmoud Khalil ‘felt as though he was being kidnapped’, lawyers write in new filing

Lawyers demand in updated lawsuit that Columbia University graduate student be released from custodyMahmoud Khalil felt as though he was being kidnapped when he was handcuffed and shackled and rushed from New York to immigration detention in Louisiana last weekend, his lawyers wrote in an updated lawsuit demanding that the Columbia University graduate student be released from custody immediately.The activist has told his lawyers that agents who arrested him at his university housing last Saturday night, in front of his eight-month pregnant wife, never identified themselves. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Deporting speakers over supposed ‘propaganda’ is a stock authoritarian move | Sarah McLaughlin

You don’t need to hold sympathy for Mahmoud Khalil’s views to see why his targeting is an immense threat to free expressionThe dust is starting to settle on the conflicting reports emerging after immigration officers’ arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University protest leader and green card holder, last weekend – and Americans should be alarmed by the similarities to authoritarian regimes’ speech policing.The White House has confirmed the arrest took place under a law granting the secretary of state unilateral power to act when given “reasonable ground to believe” an immigrant’s “presence or activities in the United States would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences” for the country. Continue reading...

Culture

2 w. ago Who is Mahmoud Khalil? The detained Columbia graduate praised as steady negotiator

Key figure in pro-Palestinian campus protests arrested by Ice known for kindness and skill for de-escalationMahmoud Khalil, the recent Columbia University graduate who was detained by Ice on Saturday night, was linked by Donald Trump, without evidence, to “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity”. But for those who know him, Khalil was a student, a steady negotiator and a leader whose activism placed him at the center of a national movement for Palestinian solidarity.Khalil, a Palestinian green card holder who is currently in immigration detention in Louisiana, was a lead negotiator for Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a role that thrust him into the spotlight during the pro-Palestinian encampment protests last spring – long before his high-profile arrest. He gained a reputation among fellow protesters as a principled and strategic organizer, earning praise for his ability to de-escalate tense situations. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Federal judge to hold hearing over detention of activist Mahmoud Khalil

Columbia grad and Palestinian activist, who has a green card, was arrested on Saturday by immigration officialsA Manhattan federal judge is set to hold a hearing on Wednesday morning over the arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent Palestinian activist and recent graduate of Columbia University.Khalil, a permanent US resident with a green card, was arrested and taken into custody on Saturday night by federal immigration authorities at his university-owned apartment. His lawyer says that the authorities were acting on a state department order to revoke his green card. Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Mahmoud Khalil’s treatment should not happen in a democracy | Moustafa Bayoumi

The Columbia University graduate’s arrest is an attempt to destroy free thinking while murdering due processForced disappearance, kidnapping, political imprisonment, take your pick. These terms all describe what has happened under the Trump administration’s first arrest for thought crimes, something that should never happen in a democracy.But it has. To Mahmoud Khalil, a recently graduated master’s student from Columbia University’s school of international and public affairs. And for each minute that Khalil is held in detention, every one of us should feel like our own individual rights in this country are being shredded. The arrest of Mahmoud Khalil is a barefaced attempt by the Trump administration to destroy free thinking while murdering due process and free speech along the way. This is an ominous development. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Arrest of Palestinian student activist raises alarm about free speech – US politics live

American Civil Liberties Union decries attack on free speech after immigration authorities arrest Mahmoud KhalilGood morning, and welcome to our US politics blog.The Trump administration’s decision to have immigration authorities arrest Mahmoud Khalil – a vocal critic of Israel’s war on Gaza – for alleged support of Hamas is an attack on free speech, the American Civil Liberties Union has warned. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Trump administration briefing: Mahmoud Khalil’s detention, ‘Trumpcession’ fears and gutting USAid

From cries of ‘McCarthyism’ over Palestinian activist’s detention to fears over a ‘Trumpcession’ – key US politics stories from Monday at a glanceThe Trump administration’s decision to have immigration authorities arrest pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil for alleged support of Hamas is an attack on free speech, the American Civil Liberties Union warned on Monday.“This arrest is unprecedented, illegal, and un-American,” said Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago US judge blocks deportation of Palestinian activist detained by Ice

Critics condemn arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, Columbia University graduate student who led protests over Gaza warA judge has blocked the deportation of the prominent Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University’s 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 US’s homeland security department – as well as the country’s top diplomat – confirmed the arrest. In a statement to the Associated Press, a homeland security department spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, said Khalil’s arrest was made to support Donald Trump’s presidential orders “prohibiting antisemitism”. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Trump warns that ICE arrest of Palestinian activist at Columbia University will be ‘first of many’

Student leader accused immigration officials of conducting ‘open repression of student activism and political speech’

Events

3 w. ago Trump confirms detention of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil: ‘the first arrest of many to come’ – live

Trump says Ice took the Palestinian student protester into custody after his executive order‘Reeks of McCarthyism’: outrage after Ice detains Palestinian student activistSecretary of state Marco Rubio has announced that USAid will cancel the majority of its programs, while the rest will be folded into the state department.Writing on X, Rubio said:After a 6 week review we are officially cancelling 83% of the programs at USAID.The 5200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump calls arrest of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil ‘first of many to come’

President says in post his administration ‘will not tolerate’ actions of protesters at Columbia and other US universitiesDonald Trump said on Monday that the arrest of a prominent Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian protests last year, is the “first arrest 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,” the US president wrote in a post on Truth Social. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Rubio and homeland security confirm arrest of Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia protests

Mahmoud Khalil was detained by Ice despite having a green card and his lawyers do not know where he’s being heldUS politics live – latest updatesA spokesperson for the US’s homeland security department – as well as the country’s top diplomat – have confirmed the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia University until this past December who helped lead protests at the school against Israel over the war in Gaza.Homeland security department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed the arrest of Khalil – who holds permanent US residency – in a statement on Sunday to Associated Press, saying it was made to support Donald Trump’s presidential orders “prohibiting antisemitism”. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Ice arrests Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia protests, lawyer says

Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest comes as Trump vows to deport foreign students involved in protests against Israel’s warA prominent Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University’s student encampment movement was arrested on Saturday night by federal immigration authorities who claimed they were acting on a state department order to revoke his green card, according to his attorney.Mahmoud Khalil was at his university-owned apartment, blocks from the private Ivy League university’s main campus in New York when several Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents entered the building and took him into custody, his attorney, Amy Greer, told the Associated Press. Continue reading...

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