According to sources from Fox News, anti-Israel activists who claim that the student is the leader of the protest and camp at the Columbia University campus in New York City, claim that the protest and camp at the Columbia University campus in New York City.
On Saturday, Mahmoud Khalil was taken into custody in his university-owned apartment on the city's Upper West Side.
According to Amy E. Greer of Dratel & Lewis, Khalil's lawyer, ICE agent told Khalil he was acting on a State Department order to revoke his green card and student visa. She issued a statement alleging that the Ice Agent accidentally arrested Halil.
“Last night, the ice agent mistakenly arrested Mahmoud Khalil, claiming that the Mahmoud visa had been revoked. “Faced with that fact, the ice agent detained him anyway.”
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Mahmoud Khalil will be seen on the Columbia University campus in New York on April 29, 2024, at an anti-Israel protest camp. (AP photo/Ted Shaffle)
Greer said the company filed a petition for a corpus of people overnight, saying that it “challenged the validity of his arrest and detention on behalf of Mahmoud.”
“We don't know the exact location of Mahmoud at the moment. We were initially informed this morning that he had been transferred to an ice facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey,” added Greer.
“However, when his wife – an American citizen who was eight months pregnant and was arrested and threatened by an ice agent last night – was about to visit him today, she was told he was not detained there.”
Greer added that the company has received reports that Halil could be moved as far as Louisiana.
“We will vehemently pursue Mahmoud's rights in court and continue our efforts to be misbehaved against this horrifying, yet unforgivable, and calculated,” Greer said.
“Ice's Mahmoud's arrest and detention follows the public restraint of US government student activities and political speeches, and has targeted Columbia University students in particular criticism of Israel's attacks on Gaza. The US government has made it clear that immigration enforcement will be used as a tool. As we do, we are greatly grateful for all of its support.” – Amy E. Greer, lawyers for Doratel & Lewis
Fox News contacted Columbia Media Issues that did not confirm Khalil's status in the university. The Associated Press reported that Halil graduated from Colombia in December.
“There have been reports of ice on the streets around campus, and Columbia is following the law.
“We have a protocol again in our campus community, which includes telephone numbers in case we are on or off campus. We must match this protocol and get a judicial warrant for law enforcement to be officiated, consistent with the practices of cities and facilities across the country.
“Columbia is committed to complying with all legal obligations and supporting student organizations and campus communities. We are also committed to the legal rights of students, urging all members of our community to respect those rights.”
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The anti-Israel agitator performed the camp on the Columbia University campus. (Getty Images)
Muslim civil rights groups also came to Khalil's defense, claiming he was a “legal permanent resident” and vowed that “the fight is just beginning.”
“Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate of Columbia University, is a legal permanent resident of our country who has not been charged or convicted of a single crime,” Cair National said in a post in X.
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“The Department of Homeland Security's lawless decision to arrest him just for his peaceful anti-Genosidic activities represents a blatant attack on freedom of speech, immigration laws, and First Amendment guarantees of Palestinian humanity itself.
The allegations against Halil came from alleged involvement in Columbia University's apartheid sale group, which praised the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, claiming it organized a “fragmental march event” that played a “substantial role” in the circulation of critical geonism in the social media post.
“I have about 13 allegations against me. Most of them are social media posts that I have nothing to do with,” Khalil told the Associated Press last week.
“They just want to show Congress and right-wing politicians that they're doing something regardless of student interest,” he added. “It's primarily an office that cools pro-Palestinian speeches.”
The Palestinian flag will be seen around the camp on April 23, 2024 at Columbia University campus in New York City. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)
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Halil's arrest comes days after President Donald Trump threatened to expel foreign students on campus who were involved in what was called an “illegal protest.”
On Friday, the administration announced it would end $400 million in federal grants and contracts with Columbia after Ivy League schools were unable to protect Jewish students on campus.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, murder, national crime cases, illegal immigration and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com
