A video made public on Friday captures the moment when federal immigration officers detained Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate student, raising concerns among supporters of free speech. The footage opens with at least three agents confronting Khalil in his apartment building’s lobby near Columbia’s campus on a Saturday night. They inform him of his imminent arrest and instruct him to “turn around” and “stop resisting.”
Khalil responds quietly, indicating his compliance. Despite the agents placing him in handcuffs, he assures them, “I’m going with you. No worries.” His wife, Noor Abdalla, distressed by the scene, asks in Arabic, “My love, how can I call you?” Khalil tells her to contact his lawyer. Abdalla, who is an American citizen and eight months pregnant, requests the officers to identify themselves, but one agent refuses.
The release of the video coincided with the Justice Department’s announcement of an investigation into whether Columbia University had concealed “illegal aliens” on its campus. Khalil, a legal U.S. resident with a clean criminal record, had his permission to remain in the U.S. revoked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio due to his participation in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia. Rubio alleged these actions incited “anti-Jewish” sentiments and supported Hamas, the militant group controlling Gaza.
President Donald Trump issued a stark warning that Khalil’s deportation would be the “first of many” targeting those involved in protests against Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Federal officials on Friday also disclosed the arrest of another protester linked to events outside Columbia University and the revocation of a visa for a doctoral student at the university, who has since departed the U.S.
Abdalla described the arrest as “the most terrifying moment of my life,” adding that they had just returned from an Iftar celebration. She expressed fear, recounting threats that she might also face arrest. These actions have sparked concern among international students at Columbia and have been criticized by free speech advocates, who claim that the Trump administration is attempting to criminalize political dissent.
Khalil’s legal team has disputed the legality of his detention. Court documents reveal that following his arrest, he was swiftly moved from New York to Louisiana over the weekend. The attorneys drew parallels between Khalil’s current predicament and his past experiences in Syria, where he witnessed friends being forcibly disappeared amid arbitrary detentions in 2013.
The lawsuit alleges that Khalil was denied access to legal counsel. During his time in a federal building in Manhattan, he overheard an agent note that “the White House is requesting an update.” Early Sunday, Khalil was transported, handcuffed and shackled, to a detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he spent the night in a cold waiting area, denied even a blanket.
He was subsequently transferred by van back to New York. By Sunday afternoon, he was placed on a flight to Dallas, followed by another to Alexandria, Louisiana, arriving in the early hours of Monday. Khalil is currently detained in a remote ICE facility surrounded by barbed wire near Jena, Louisiana, approximately 150 miles from Baton Rouge. This facility is set amidst expansive pine forests and has a capacity to hold 1,160 individuals.
Khalil worries deeply about his expectant wife, and the prospect of missing the birth of their first child greatly concerns him. The couple had been relying on the health benefits of a job Khalil was set to start in April. According to the lawsuit, Khalil is determined to continue his advocacy for Palestinian rights both within the U.S. and internationally, emphasizing the importance of his protected political speech.
