7 d. ago Judge rules Columbia protester can’t be detained as she fights deportation

White House blocked from deporting Yunseo Chung, green card holder and student who sued Trump administrationA federal judge in Manhattan blocked immigration officials from detaining Yunseo Chung, a Columbia University student and legal permanent resident the Trump administration is trying to deport for taking part in Gaza solidarity protests.The 21-year-old green card holder, who has lived in the US since she was seven years old, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday, arguing the government is “attempting to use immigration enforcement as a bludgeon to suppress speech that they dislike”. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Detained Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil appears in immigration case

Detained Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil has appeared briefly in immigration court at a remote Louisiana detention center

Culture

2 w. ago Federal judge says Columbia student activist's case should be heard in New Jersey

A Columbia University student activist who was detained by the U.S. government over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations has the right to challenge the legality of his detention

Events

2 w. ago Detained Columbia University student disputes government's 'bedbugs' claim in court papers

A detained Columbia University student says the subject of bedbugs never arose after he was arrested and flown to a Louisiana detention center by authorities who now say bedbugs helped force the long journey that made him fear he was being immediately deported

Politics

2 w. ago A graduate’s arrest and Trump’s ‘pincer attack’ on higher education

The administration is cutting funds and threatening what it sees as liberal bastions, such as Columbia University, where it detained Mahmoud Khalil for his pro-Palestinian activismIf Donald Trump thought few Americans would care about the deportation of an Arab student protest leader accused of supporting terrorism and antisemitism at an elite university then he was wrong on several counts.Trump accused the student, Mahmoud Khalil, of being “pro-Hamas” and hailed his detention by immigration officers, in front of his pregnant American wife as she waved her husband‘s permanent residence card, as the “first arrest of many to come”. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Columbia graduate detained by Ice was respected British government employee

Mahmoud Khalil described by former colleague at UK office for Syria as well liked and extensively vettedA detained Columbia University graduate threatened with deportation after the Trump administration claimed he poses a risk to US foreign policy is a former employee of the British government who was extensively vetted before working at the embassy in Beirut.Mahmoud Khalil, a recent graduate from a Columbia University master’s programme, was arrested at home on 9 March as he returned with his wife from a dinner to break their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Continue reading...

Politics

3 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

3 w. ago Trump is using antisemitism as a pretext for a war on the first amendment | Judith Levine

The Trump administration is not interested in combating antisemitism. It just wants to silence its opponents insteadOn Saturday night, agents of the Department of Homeland Security arrested and detained the Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil. He is still in Ice custody in a remote Louisiana lockup known for extreme human rights violations, from denial of food and water to medical “care” verging on torture.Khalil, a Palestinian Syrian, emerged as a leader in Columbia’s Gaza solidarity encampment last year and a level-headed negotiator with university officials on behalf of the student protesters. Married to a US citizen, he holds a green card. Neither his American wife, who is eight months pregnant, nor his lawyers were warned of the arrest or told where he would be held. Continue reading...

Politics