Trump Administration Targets Mahmoud Khalil Over Campus Protests

Last spring, as protests over the Israel-Hamas war intensified at Columbia University, Mahmoud Khalil became a well-known activist. The international affairs graduate student actively participated in demonstrations against Israel’s military actions in Gaza. He also urged the university to sever financial ties with Israel and companies supporting the war.

Khalil frequently spoke to the media and helped negotiate on behalf of the protesters. “We want to be visible,” he stated in April last year.

Arrest and Controversy Under the Trump Administration

Now, his activism has drawn the attention of former U.S. President Donald Trump. Federal immigration agents arrested Khalil at his apartment on Saturday, making him the first person detained under Trump’s crackdown on campus protests. Despite being a legal U.S. resident married to an American citizen, he faces possible deportation.

Trump’s administration claims the arrest is part of a broader effort to remove foreign students allegedly contributing to an unsafe environment for Jewish students. However, Khalil’s lawyers and civil rights advocates argue this is an attack on free speech aimed at silencing pro-Palestinian voices.

His colleagues see his detention as a severe response to someone known for his diplomatic background. Former British diplomat Andrew Waller, who worked with Khalil at the U.K.’s Beirut-based Syria embassy, described him as “thoughtful,” “intelligent,” and “conscientious.” Waller noted that Khalil’s work required an extensive background check.

From War-Torn Syria to Columbia University

Khalil’s journey to Columbia was shaped by conflict. After high school in Syria, he planned to study aviation engineering. However, the civil war disrupted his education, forcing him to move to Beirut. There, he worked with an education nonprofit helping Syrian children while attending a Lebanese university.

“Where would I be if, like countless other Syrian refugees before me, I could not get a scholarship, could not work, or worst of all, could not leave Syria in the depths of the ongoing war?” he wrote in a 2017 essay.

After earning a computer science degree, Khalil pursued further studies at Columbia. When protests erupted on campus over the Gaza war, he emerged as a leading student representative for pro-Palestinian demonstrators and Muslim students.

Targeted for His Activism

During the protests, Khalil openly participated without wearing a mask and spoke publicly, which made him a target for critics. Some accused him of antisemitism, while others, like the Columbia Jewish Alumni Association, labeled him a “ringleader of the chaos.”

Khalil denied these allegations. “I’m an easy scapegoat for them to say, ‘Look at this Palestinian who never wore a mask and was active in the school protests,’” he told the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, Columbia University formed a disciplinary committee that investigated various complaints against him. One inquiry involved whether he violated anti-harassment policies by calling a university dean “genocidal.”

Deportation Threat and Supporters’ Reactions

Khalil is currently being held in a federal detention center in Louisiana. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that he should be deported because he “organized 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.” The U.S. government designates Hamas as a terrorist group.

However, those who protested alongside Khalil reject these accusations. Columbia University senior Maryan Alwan defended him, saying, “If someone distributed something at a protest that has nothing to do with the group, they attribute it to him for having his face at the action.” She described him as mild-mannered and skilled at managing internal conflicts among protesters. She also mentioned his love for cooking and playing drums in Columbia’s Arab Music Ensemble.

Columbia protest organizers insist they oppose the war but are not antisemitic. Some Jewish students and groups participated in the demonstrations. However, a Columbia task force on antisemitism reported “serious and pervasive” issues on campus, citing verbal abuse and ostracization of Jewish students.

Awaiting Graduation and Fatherhood

Khalil completed his master’s program in December and is set to graduate in May. Meanwhile, his wife, who is eight months pregnant, has appealed for his release. She issued a statement asking the public “to see Mahmoud through my eyes as a loving husband” and a father-to-be.

“I need your help to bring Mahmoud home, so he is here beside me, holding my hand in the delivery room,” she wrote.