Mahmoud Khalil
According to the congressional letter, Khalil was detained when two plainclothes Department of Homeland Security agents entered into his apartment and took him into custody without presenting a warrant or filed charges.
The congressional representatives—including Representatives Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.)—characterized Khalil's detention as an "attempt to criminalize political protest" and a "direct assault on freedom of speech" particularly concerning in an academic setting.
"Khalil has not been charged or convicted of any crime. As the Trump Administration proudly admits, he was targeted solely for his activism and organizing as a student leader and negotiator for the Gaza Solidarity Encampment on Columbia University's campus," the members wrote in their letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The case raises significant questions about free speech protections on college campuses and the rights of international students and residents engaged in political activism. The congressional representatives, all Democrats, described the detention as an act of "anti-Palestinian racism intended to silence the Palestine solidarity movement in this country."
The letter alleges that ICE agents initially claimed the State Department had revoked Khalil's student visa. When informed by Khalil's attorney that he was a permanent resident with a green card, the agents reportedly stated his green card was being revoked instead.
The congressional members noted that DHS initially provided misinformation about Khalil's detention location, telling his family he was being held in Elizabeth, New Jersey. When his wife, who is eight months pregnant and a U.S. citizen, attempted to visit the facility, she learned he wasn't there. Shortly after his arrest, Khalil was transferred to an ICE facility in central Louisiana.
"Khalil's constitutional rights have been violated. He has been denied meaningful access to counsel and any visitation from his family. This is absolutely unacceptable—and illegal," the letter stated.
Khalil officially completed his academic program at Columbia in December and is expected to graduate in May, according to a habeas corpus petition filed by his lawyer. A federal judge has blocked Khalil's removal from the country while weighing the petition challenging his arrest.
The Trump administration has asserted its authority to remove Khalil under the Immigration and Nationality Act. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated, "Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the secretary of state has the right to revoke a green card or a visa for individuals who serve or are adversarial to the foreign policy and the national security interests of the United States of America."
Leavitt characterized Khalil as "an individual who was given the privilege of coming to this country to study at one of our nation's finest universities and colleges and he took advantage of that opportunity, of that privilege, by siding with terrorists, Hamas terrorists."
Baher Azmy, one of Khalil's lawyers, strongly disputed this characterization, calling the alleged alignment with Hamas "false and preposterous."
"Setting aside the false and preposterous premise that advocating on behalf of Palestinian human rights and to plead with public officials to stop an ongoing genocide constitutes alignment with Hamas, his speech is absolutely protected by the Constitution," Azmy told ABC News. "It should be chilling to everyone that the United States government could punish or try to deport someone because they disapprove of the speech they're engaged in."
The White House press secretary also indicated that more arrests will follow and claimed that Columbia University is "refusing to help" DHS identify other individuals. "Columbia University has been given the names of other individuals who have engaged in pro-Hamas activity and they are refusing to help DHS identify those individuals on campus," Leavitt said.
