Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate who was arrested on Saturday night by US immigration authorities on accusations of pro-Hamas activism, is scheduled to attend a court hearing on his case today (Wednesday).
A group of demonstrators, many wearing masks, gathered in support of Khalil ahead of his hearing today, the New York Post reported. Yesterday (Tuesday), a dozen people were arrested during a demonstration in support of Khalil after they blocked a street.
Demonstrators accused NYPD officers of being trained by Israel and taunted them with pig noises.
Khalil, a prominent figure in Columbia’s student-led protests against Israel, was arrested by federal agents acting on a State Department order to revoke his green card, his attorney confirmed.
The arrest is part of President Donald Trump’s broader crackdown on pro-Palestinian Arab demonstrations on American college campuses. Trump has openly declared his intention to deport foreign students involved in what he called “illegal protests” and to imprison “agitators.”
Khalil, a US green card holder, had been under investigation by Columbia University’s disciplinary committee for his role in campus protests. He is currently being held at the Jena/LaSalle Detention Facility in Louisiana after being transferred from New Jersey, according to advocacy groups.
On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed that Khalil was arrested and faces deportation because he distributed fliers in support of Hamas, a US-designated terrorist organization.
“This is an individual, who organized group protests that not only disrupted college campus classes and harassed Jewish American students and made them feel unsafe on their own college campus, but also distributed pro-Hamas propaganda flyers with the logo of Hamas. I have those flyers on my desk," Leavitt said.
On Monday, a federal judge in New York temporarily blocked the deportation of Khalil.