The Arrest Of Columbia University Student Mahmoud Khalil

Lawyers of a Columbia University student, who was arrested and detained for activism, say Mahmoud Khalil’s constitutional rights have been infringed and are urging his release.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested 29-year-old Mahmoud Khalil last weekend and threatened to revoke his permanent residency (green card). He is now being held in a detention centre in Louisiana.

The contentious arrest follows a pledge by US President Donald Trump to deport students who joined protests against Israel’s war on Gaza – since describing Khalil as “a radical foreign pro-Hamas student”.

Khalil, who is Palestinian, became a permanent resident last year and lives in Manhattan with his US-citizen wife, who is eight months’ pregnant.