US immigration agents on Saturday detained a Palestinian recent Columbia University graduate, according to a statement from Student Workers of Columbia. Mahmoud Khalil was inside a residence owned by the University when several Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents entered his apartment and took him into custody.
According to his lawyer, Amy Greer, ICE agents initially said they were detaining him because the US State Department had revoked his student visa. However, when the lawyer informed them that Khalil was a green card holder, the agents responded that they were also revoking his permanent residency.
The university’s Public Safety recently published a new protocol reversing the school’s sanctuary campus status. In it, they stated that “exigent circumstances may allow for access to University buildings or people without a warrant.” This provision means that government agencies may enter campus buildings or access people on campus without needing a warrant under certain urgent or emergencies.
The 4th Amendment of the US Constitution prohibits government officials from unreasonable searches and seizing, and guarantees the protection of permanent legal residents, including the due process of law.
Columbia has faced several protests since the October 7 attacks, in which Hamas killed over 1200 Israelis, mainly civilians. The attack, considered a war crime and crime against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC), sparked an invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israel, in which more than sixty thousand mainly civilian Palestinians have been killed.
The protests culminated with the failed negotiations and the eventual NYPD takeover of the Pro-Palestinian campus encampment in the Spring of 2024, with Students for Justice in Palestine at Columbia (ColumbiaSJP) and the Columbia-Barnard Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP) on the one side, and the Columbia administration on the other. Mahmoud Khalil was one of the main negotiators of the pro-Palestinian groups, as the sides tried to negotiate a deal to allow the organization of the University-wide 2024 commencement.
However, despite students’ removal from encamping in front of Columbia’s main library, commencement was canceled, and most school class days were moved outside of the main campus. Today, access to campus remains limited only to Columbia University’s ID Holders and approved guests, with campus visits by non-students requiring an application in advance to be considered.