A group of Columbia University students and alumni staged a protest Monday afternoon by chaining themselves to the campus gates at 116th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, reported The Columbia Spectator . The demonstration, which began around noon, called for the release of two Palestinian Arab students currently held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. According to a joint Instagram statement from Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition, Jewish Voice for Peace at Columbia, and Columbia University Alumni for Palestine, the protest aimed to advocate for “the release of Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi .” Protesters affixed cards bearing the names of Palestinian Arabs killed in Gaza to the gates and unfurled a banner listing four demands: the release of Khalil (SIPA ’24) and Mahdawi (GS ’25), full financial transparency from the University, the designation of Columbia as a sanctuary campus, and unrestricted access through the University gates. The demonstration followed the recent detention of Mahdawi by ICE officers during his naturalization appointment in Vermont. He is currently listed in ICE records under a contact number linked to a Massachusetts field office. Khalil was detained on March 8 at a university-owned property and is currently held at a detention center in Louisiana, pending legal proceedings related to his habeas corpus petition. An immigration judge in Louisiana recently issued a ruling allowing the deportation of Khalil. The government accuses Khalil of failing to disclose on his residency application what it described as his "membership" in the United Nations’ Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA. Khalil has rejected the allegations and framed his detention as retaliation for his political views. Security presence at Monday’s protest included both Columbia Public Safety and officers from the New York Police Department. NYPD Deputy Inspector Jose Taveras informed demonstrators that the use of a bullhorn would require a permit and warned that chaining themselves to property could lead to arrest. This marks the second such protest this semester involving demonstrators chaining themselves to campus gates. On April 2, a similar action took place at the gates near St. Paul’s Chapel and Earl Hall in response to Khalil’s arrest. “We are monitoring a disruption involving about 10 individuals on Amsterdam Avenue chained to the campus gates,” a Columbia University spokesperson stated. “Public Safety has cut the locks, and individuals have been asked for identification. All chained individuals remained outside the gates, and NYPD is on site monitoring the small demonstration.” The University added that procedures were being followed in accordance with campus policies and that student activities were continuing without interruption. According to The Columbia Spectator , as of 12:45 p.m., no arrests had been made. Officers from the Emergency Service Unit were seen arriving at the protest around 12:53 p.m. By 1:25 p.m., Public Safety began cutting the bike locks with bolt cutters. Protesters chanted, “Public Safety, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide.” By around 3:00 p.m., campus access was restored as Public Safety moved barricades at the protest site.
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