The arrest comes as President Donald Trump vows to deport foreign students and imprison “agitators” involved in protests against Israel’s war in Gaza. The administration has placed particular scrutiny on Columbia, announcing Friday that it would be cutting $400 million in grants and contracts because of what the government describes as the Ivy League school’s failure to squelch antisemitism on campus. The authorities declined to tell Khalil’s wife, who is eight months pregnant, why he was being detained, Greer said. Khalil has since been transferred to an immigration detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey. “We have not been able to get any more details about why he is being detained,” Greer told The AP. “This is a clear escalation. The administration is following through on its threats.” A spokesperson for Columbia said law enforcement agents must produce a warrant before entering university property. The spokesperson declined to say if the school had received a warrant for Khalil’s arrest. Messages seeking comment were left with the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. Khalil had become one of the most visible faces of the pro-Palestinian movement at Columbia. As Columbia students erected tents on campus last spring, Khalil was picked to serve as a negotiator on behalf of students and met frequently with university administrators. When classes resumed in September, he told The Associated Press that the protests would continue: “As long as Columbia continues to invest and to benefit from Israeli apartheid, the students will continue to resist.”
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