US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday weighed in on the Trump administration’s crackdown on supporters of Hamas.
Rubio shared on X a link to a report on the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian Arab graduate student who played a key role in last year’s anti-Israel protests at Columbia University.
“We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported,” he wrote.
Khalil’s arrest follows through on a commitment by President Donald Trump’s administration to expel international students who took part in anti-Israel demonstrations. US officials have stated that those who participated in the campus protests effectively forfeited their right to remain in the country by aligning with Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.
His arrest also comes two days after the Trump administration officially announced that it would revoke $400 million in federal grants due to Columbia’s handling of antisemitism.
The funding cuts followed a recent "comprehensive review" of Columbia’s federal grants, conducted by the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Justice (DOJ), Education (DoE), and the US General Services Administration (GSA). The agencies cited an ongoing investigation by the Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, which is looking into whether Columbia violated the Civil Rights Act by failing to address the harassment of Jewish students.
"For too long, Columbia has abandoned that obligation to Jewish students studying on its campus," Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated. "Today, we demonstrate to Columbia and other universities that we will not tolerate their appalling inaction any longer."
Columbia has come under increased scrutiny over the rise in antisemitism on campus since the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Pro-Palestinian Arab demonstrators at Columbia set up dozens of tents in April of last year, demanding that the university divest from its Israeli assets. The university administration called in police to dismantle the encampments.
On April 30, at the request of university leaders, hundreds of officers with the New York Police Department stormed onto campus, gaining access to the building through a second-story window and making dozens of arrests of the pro-Palestinian Arab demonstrators who had taken over Hamilton Hall.
In August, three Columbia University deans resigned from the school, after it was discovered that they had exchanged “very troubling” texts that “disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes”.
The university has seen a resurgence of anti-Israel activity in recent weeks. In January, anti-Israel students disrupted an Israeli history class by banging drums, chanting “Free Palestine,” and distributing fliers that depicted a boot stomping on a Star of David.
The students were later expelled, prompting protests at Barnard College. The demonstrations escalated when protesters took over the Barnard College library, leading to multiple arrests.
Former Columbia University President Dr. Minouche Shafik announced her resignation last summer, following months of criticism for her handling of campus antisemitism.