Last weekend, Mahmoud Khalil, a Ph.D. student at Columbia University, was arrested by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He is currently being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Mahmoud is a permanent U.S. resident and a green card holder. His wife, who is eight months pregnant, is a U.S. citizen.
The officers who detained Mahmoud initially told him that his “student visa” had been canceled because of his activism at Columbia University on behalf of Palestinian human rights. When informed that Mahmoud is a permanent resident and that he has a green card—not a student visa—the officers informed him that his green card had been canceled. Mahmoud was detained for 24 hours before his wife and lawyer were told where he was. He is now being held in a for-profit detention center in Louisiana.
On March 10, a federal judge ordered that Mahmoud could not be deported while a petition for his release is pending.
Mahmoud’s detention is deeply troubling, not just for students or pro-Palestine activists, but for anyone who cares about free speech, due process, and civil liberties. The Trump administration has said Mahmoud is being targeted for his student activism at Columbia, where he acted as a negotiator and spokesperson for students protesting Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
This is also deeply troubling for all who care about immigrant rights. Mahmoud is a permanent resident and his free speech and political activism are protected by law. A green card cannot simply be revoked for political reasons. Mahmoud’s detention without due process is indicative of the Trump administration’s larger attack on migrant communities. ICE is rounding people up across the country and the Trump administration is both eroding and ignoring existing legal protections. ICE is detaining and questioning people simply based on race and ethnicity. People have been imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay based on unproven allegations—with limited or no access to legal counsel. The Trump administration is setting up massive new detention centers to hold tens of thousands more people in an effort to deport millions of our families, friends, and neighbors.
President Trump has hailed the arrest of Mahmoud on social media and promised more arrests of those who have taken part in other political protests or actions in support of Palestinian rights.
Mahmoud should be at home with his family, not in a jail cell. But this case should set off alarms for everyone, regardless of their feelings about Palestine, immigration, or student protesters. This case is about due process, free speech, and constitutional rights. If Mahmoud and others like him are not safe, nobody is safe.
If Mahmoud’s speech and political beliefs can be turned against him, the rights of all people who hold views that do not align with the Trump administration are at risk.
If Mahmoud’s residency rights can be stripped away without due process and because of his political beliefs and actions, the residency rights of all people in the U.S. are at risk.
If we stay silent now, we are sending a message that these are risks we are willing to accept. If we do not act now, we condemn Mahmoud—and the many people who will come after him—to the unmitigated cruelty of a system that punishes those who seek justice.
And many, many people are not staying silent. Within days of Mahmoud’s detention, more than two million people signed a petition demanding his release. Protests have sprung up across the country. Fourteen members of Congress have sent a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to call for his release.
AFSC joins with millions to call for Mahmoud’s freedom. We strongly oppose his detention and any effort to persecute and silence those speaking out against injustice. And we will continue to work in solidarity with student movements and activists across the country to call for an end to detention and deportation at home and an end to genocide and occupation in Palestine and across the globe.
